Strictly Professional
by distswim13
Summary: Toshiro Hitsugaya, PhD, has spent the majority of his young life focusing on his academic career. That all changes when a young graduate student is assigned to work in his lab and pushes him to explore life outside his research. Hitsuhina. AU.
1. Chapter 1

**I've sat down three times to try and type out the next chapter of my ongoing story. Nothing. Seems I have writers block when it comes to Legend of Korra. The cure? Possibly hitsuhina. Here we go.**

Momo held the white envelope in her hands, staring at. "I can't open it!"

Besides her, her best friend Kira rolled his eyes. "Yes you can. Now just open it already!"

"I can't!" Momo dropped the letter on the counter and turned to Kira, eyes wide with anxiety. "What if I open it and they tell me I'm no good? That they hate me?"

"Momo, this is a letter of admission from the university. The worst they can say is no." Kira picked the envelope back up and handed it to the trembling girl. "Open it."

"Oh god, they probably did reject me! I may as well start looking for a job at McDonald's now."

"Just open it."

The tone of Kira's voice had developed a rougher tone, indicating to his best friend that his patience was nearing the end. Across from him, Momo swallowed and opened the envelope. She slide out the letter and held her breath as she read the words.

"I did it!" Momo jumped up from her chair, eyes large with excitement. "I did it! I'm accepted! Grad school here I come!"

* * *

"And that will be all for today."

At these words, the large auditorium began to ring with the noise of hundreds of notebooks closing and backpacks zipping as students packed up. The lecture hall was large and easily fit four hundred students. What was, perhaps, more impressive was the attendance rate of the class. Despite no attendance being taken, students rarely missed a lecture. It was not the material itself that fascinated the students, but rather the professor.

At twenty-two years of age, Toshiro Hitsugaya was perhaps the youngest professor in the history of Karakura Unviersity. A genius, as a boy he had graduated high school at twelve and college at fifteen. He had achieved his doctorate by age twenty and had decided to spend the rest of his life teaching and researching chemistry at the same college he got his start. By all means, Doctor Hitsugaya was an accomplished man.

His passion for his subject and his work was well known throughout the school. Hitsugaya was a chronic workaholic who would rather run experiments or write up results than have a social life. For a man in his early twenties, all of his colleges were much older than him, yet still seemed more relaxed, outgoing and less uptight.

"Oh good, you're still here."

Hitsugaya turned around from the table where he was packing up his lecture notes. "Dr. Ukitake."

"Hitsugaya, I was wondering if you recieved the email Kyoraku sent out regarding next years graduate students?"

"Probably, I haven't had time to look. I just finished my organic lecture."

"Well, the list is complete. Everyone in the science department will have one grad assistant dedicated to them, with the exception of Kyoraku himself and Dr. Kensei who will have two."

"What does this have to do with me?" Toshiro asked, clearly annoyed. "Matsumoto is not done with her studies, so I will not be assigned anyone new in the fall."

"Yes, we know," Ukitake said with a smile. "But Rangiku will not be conducting research here at Karakura over the summer."

"I know, she has informed me of her plans to travel to Seretei Universiry until the fall. I approve. Their facilities are remarkable and may be able to help her research progress."

"Well, then I have come to ask if you would take a temporary graduate student for the summer."

"Temporary?"

"The department still has not found anyone to replace Dr. Aizen after his... Incident. We have a student planning on following his research. Until we find a suitable replacement, we want to place this student under your care. By the time Rangiku comes back, we should have hired a replacement and will transfer this student under his or her care."

"Fine," Toshiro sighed. "What's this student's name so that I may email them?"

"Momo," Ukitake said. "Momo Hinamori."


	2. Chapter 2

"Kira! Kira, do I look okay?"

Kira looked up to see Momo standing in the doorway of the kitchen. She was dressed in jeans, sensible shoes and a bright yellow tank top. Her hair was held up in place by a yellow bun. Kira could feel the color rise in his cheeks as he searched for the words to reply. "You look nice Momo, but you know I'm not one to go to for fashion advice."

"I know, I just want to make sure I look alright," Momo said as she smoothed out a wrinkle on her shirt. "I need to look clean cut and professional. It's my first time meeting the professor I'm going to work with this summer. I can't have them think I'm a slob."

"The last thing you look like is a slob," Kira said firmly. "Would you like any coffee?"

"Please. In a to-go mug if possible. We need to leave soon."

Kira walked over to the coffee maker in the corner of his kitchen. He began to get Momo's coffee ready as he continued to listen to her usual morning small talk. The two both lived in student apartments not far off from Karakura University. Momo lived one story above Kira with her roommate Nanao while Kira roomed with Shuhei Hisagi. Despite this, each morning Momo would head down to Kira's and walk with him the university.

"Here's your coffee," Kira said handing Momo her usual mug.

"Thanks!" Momo said with a smile that caused Kira's heart to race. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, let me just get my keys."

The morning was bright and sunny as the summer sun shone. Since it was the start of summer vacation, there was little foot traffic on the way to the University.

"You're crazy for wanting to work this summer," Kira said to his companion.

"You're working too!"

"Yeah, in the library! I'm not starting my grad studies until the fall. Like normal people."

"Well they offered and I couldn't say no," Momo said, pouting slightly at Kira. "What time do you expect to get off?"

"Oh, probably two or so. You know how work is. So tedious and such." Kira exaggerated.

At his words, Momo rolled her eyes. "Kira, you sit at the front desk of the library and help people check out books and pass out scantrons."

"Yes, but I survive each day without succumbing to boredom. That's enough for me." Kira said as they reached the main entrance of the library. "Now, come find me when you're done and we can walk home together. Stop worrying so much Momo. It's just summer, use it to adjust." He gave her a quick hug then proceeded up the stairs into the library.

"Have a great day babysitting those troublesome books!" Momo called after him. She saw him shake her head as he continued to climb up the stairs. After watching Kira walk through the doors, Momo continued down the sidewalk to the side of campus that held the science buildings. Pulling out her phone to triple check the room number, she entered the Life Science building and proceeded to the laboratory her email had specified. She checked the time. 8:50. Perfect. She was nearly ten minutes early.

Mustering up her courage, Momo made sure her bun was still in place before opening the door of the laboratory. At first glance, it was empty.

Unlike the student laboratories Momo had worked in during her undergraduate, this laboratory did not consist of rows of identical stations. Instead, half of the counters were filled with various machines and apparatuses. The other half provided room to work. Along one wall was a series of fume hoods, ending with the required one designated for chemical waste. The wall adjacent to the hoods was covered in shelves and drawers that held all types of equipment and glassware. As Momo walked into the lab, she looked around for anyone.

"I guess I'm a bit too early." She muttered to herself. "Oh well, at least I have time to prepare." She reached into her bag to pull out her lab coat and goggles. She pulled on her coat. When she placed her goggles on the table she noticed that a beaker was currently attached to one of the reflux condensers in the room.

"Oh, someone must be coming back soon," she reasoned to herself. "Or else why would they have an experiment running."

"You're not going spend this entire summer muttering to yourself are you?" Said a voice behind Momo

"AH!" The voice startled Momo. Instinctively, she jumped and tried to turn around to see the speaker, but clumsiness overtook her and she went crashing down to the floor.

"Hey, be careful now!"

Momo kept her eyes on the floor as she pulled herself up from the ground, to embarrassed to speak. "I-I'm sorry. You scared me!"

"I don't know how, I was here the whole time." The voice was cold and stern.

Swallowing, Momo looked up to see the owner of the voice. He was a short- very short, perhaps an inch shorter than Momo herself- man close to her age with spikey, unruly white hair that added an inch or two to his height. His lab coat seemed to swallow him up. The man's face was stern and his features seemed permanently in a frown. Behind his lab goggles were large, piercing turquoise eyes that stared at Momo with such an intensity that they made her feel as though she was under inspection.

"I'm sorry!" Momo squeaked. "I must have not seen you, you're so sh-"

The man cut her off before she could finish her sentence. "My height has nothing to do with your level of observation. Now if you expect to work in this laboratory, you will need to work on it. You're Miss Hinamori, I assume?"

"Yes, I am." Momo reached out to shake the white haired boys hand. When he did not return the gesture, she awkwardly drew her hand back to her side. "You must be another grad student. I'm so glad. I was worried I was gonna get paired with some crazy, old professor and have to deal with it myself. Speaking of which, do you know when the professor will be here?"

"You're looking at him." The white haired man straightened the collar of his lab coat, as if to help establish his prestige. "Dr. Toshiro Hitsugaya."

Momo felt her mouth go dry as she realized she had just made the assumption that this man, her superior and intended mentor, was just a fellow grad student like herself. She had been in grad school a mere ten minutes and had already made the worst first impression possible.

A/N: my uncle is a science professor at the university of Arizona so I'm modeling the lab and stuff after his own. Also, i don't know how the college school system works in Japan, so as God of my AU, I'm modeling it after the American version. Of course, not all grad schools are like this but I'm tweaking what I know and have experienced so that it fits the story. Until next time. Oh, and please review :)


	3. Chapter 3

"Oh my goodness, it was horrible," Momo said as she stared helplessly at her lunch.

"I doubt it was horrible," Kira said to her with firm reassurance in his voice. The two were sitting on at a table in the library for their lunch break.

"No. It was. I fell and assumed he was just another grad student. Wow, you should have seen the look on his face."

"Well, if he's already a professor, he's probably worked hard for his doctorate and wants people to acknowledge that," Kira offered. He looked at Momo's untouched meal. "You need to eat your lunch."

Momo ignored his last comment. "I've humiliated myself."

"No, no you haven't." Kira said. "You're going to go in there after this, put on your best face and start over. Now eat. Please don't make me tell you again."

Momo scowled, but didn't say anything back, as she knew Kira was right. She just picked up her sandwich, took a bite.

* * *

"Good. You're back." Momo walked into the lab to find Toshiro at his station, still set up from earlier. He was carefully recording something in a notebook and didn't bother to look up at Momo as she walked in.

"Yes I am, what would you like me to do professor?"

"Doctor," Toshiro quickly corrected. "I prefer to be addressed as Doctor Hitsugaya."

"Of course," Momo said. She looked down at her fingers as she tried to remain cool and composed. "What would you like me to do, Doctor Hitsugaya?"

"Well, you already checked the stockroom. Thank you for being so prompt." He said, not taking his eyes off of his experiment. "I'm going to be honest. I'm not quite sure what to do with you."

"P-pardon?"

"You and I don't specialize in the same thing. The professor you need has yet to be hired. I'm supposed to entertain you until then."

Momo winced at his words as the feeling that she was a burden suddenly overcame her. She stood there for a moment, trying to think of something to say. The tension in the room was thick.

"I... I don't intend to be a burden."

Toshiro sighed, finally picking up that the young girl was unsettled by his behavior. "You're not. How about this. Meet me tomorrow at my office. I'm teaching a summer ochem class. I know your grad studies aren't focused on ochem, but I looked over your transcripts. You did well in that class, for a bio major."

"Thanks?" The word came out as more of a question than Momo intended.

Still hearing the hesitation in her voice, Toshiro stood up and walked over to where Momo stood. She was standing near the door, her lab coat tightly clutched in her hands. She was shifting her weight for foot to foot, clearly uncomfortable with their conversation. This was the first time he had truly taken the time to look at her. Earlier, he had just provided her with a task and set her on the way, eager to return to his work.

She was pretty, in a most traditional way, with wide set brown eyes. Exceptionally pretty. She was small, slender and quite petite. Her skin looked soft. Her face was round and full, with rosy cheeks. Her lips were plump and full. Her brown hair was pulled up in a yellow cloth ties together by a white ribbon. Toshiro cocked his head slightly to the side as he tried to imagine what she looked like with her hair down.

"Um, is there something wrong Doctor Hitsugaya?" Momo asked.

Her voice broke his chain of thought, bringing him back to the present. "Oh, no. Not at all."

"Sorry, you just zoned out for a few seconds."

Toshiro felt the color rise in his cheeks. So she had noticed that he had begun to stare at her. He internally cursed himself for being so obvious and again for being the thoughts himself. She was a grad student, he reminded himself. He had to stay professional.

"Oh," he said quickly, his voice returning to its cold tone. "Yes. I'm just so occupied with my work. Why don't you go for the day? Tomorrow. My office. 8:30 this time."

Momo nodded and moved to collect her stuff. She turned to the head to the door. Right before heading out, she turned around and look at the young professor. "I'm sorry I'm not what you were expecting, but I promise I'll be a hard worker."

Before he could answer, she had left, leaving Toshiro feeling as though he was the one who needed to apologize for making the young girl feel inadequate.


	4. Chapter 4

"You're on time. Excellent." Toshiro was sitting at his the desk in the center of his office. He was looking over an email on computer, but stopped to greet Momo as she walked in.

"What would you like me to do today,Doctor Hitsugaya?" Momo asked.

"You can start with this." Toshiro pulled out a stack of papers from one of the folders laying on the table. "This is the test from yesterday's summer class. The grading key for questions 1-8 should be the first thing inside. Use red pen and mark down the scores on the front cover. I will hand grade questions 9 and 10 myself."

Momo walked over to the desk and grabbed the file. "Anything else?"

"For right now, this will do." Toshiro said. "You may use one of the empty chairs in the staff room. I'm afraid there's not much extra room in here for you to work."

"That's alright. I'll get this done immediately." Momo said as she headed off to the staff room to begin to grade the papers.

Momo spent the next two hours grading nonstop, taking special care not to make any mistakes. There was maybe eighty tests, but after a while she was beginning to memorize the answer key, making it easier. It was a little past eleven when she finally finished all the tests, collected her stuff and headed back to the Toshiro's office only to find the door open but the room empty.

Momo walked into Toshiro's office and placed the graded tests on his desk. She then began to look around. The office was modest in size, with a large desk in the center and several filing cabinets and shelves lining the back wall. Everywhere Momo looked, papers were nearly filed, labeled and organized. "He's way too organized," Momo thought to herself as she looked around.

His desk was covered in notes, from daily reminders to small memos. In front of his computer were handwritten notes. At a glance, Momo could assumed these were about his research. She opened one of the notebooks, only to find a graph filled with facts beyond her comprehension. Maybe he was right, she thought. His line of work may be a bit out of reach from Momo's field of studies.

She continued looking around the office, not really sure if she was passing time until his return, or if she was simply to curious to leave for her lunch break. After looking over a bookshelf filled with rows of books, scientific journals and binders of what she could only assume was more research, Momo made her way over to the only wall covered with photos.

For the most part, Hitsugaya kept his office walls simple. The wall to the left of the door had nothing but a periodic table. The fall across from the door was blank, save for a spare window whose blinds were open to allow a bit of the summer sun to shine in. The wall to the right, however, had a few scattered frames hung here and there.

Momo looked at the first photo. It was a newspaper clipping about a young prodigy from the Rukongai. She skimmed over the article. It said that the young boy had been accepted to Seretei Univeristy on a full scholarship at a mere twelve years of age. At the bottom of the magazine was a picture of Toshiro, his face frozen in his ever present scowl.

The next photo was a framed copy of his doctorate. Besides that were copies of his bachelor's and master's degrees.

It was the last picture that struck Momo. It was the smallest frame by far. Inside the simple wooden frame was a picture of a white haired boy and a little, old woman. The woman was smiling, her arm around her grandson and her eyes bright with joy. Next to her, Toshiro's blonde hair was a mess of unruly spikes. He looked at the camera and, unlike any other photo, his lips made up the slightest smile as he stood beside the old woman.

"That's my grandma," a voice said from the doorway.

At the sound, Momo almost jumped out of her skin.

"Wow, you really are startled easily." Toshiro said as he entered the room.

"I'm sorry, I just wasn't expecting you."

"Well, this is my office," Toshiro said with a smirk. "I see you've made yourself comfortable."

Momo looked down at her hands, suddenly feeling guilty for prying around in his private study. "I'm sorry. No one was in here and I was just curious."

"It's fine," Toshiro said simply and with little emotion.

"She looks so nice," Momo said as she continued to look at the photo of Toshiro and his grandmother.

"She is a saint," Toshiro offered, walking over to wear Momo was standing. "I lost my parents young and she took me in. All the children in neighborhood avoided me, partly because my intellect intimidated them. She always knew how to encourage me when I was down."

"She sounds like an amazing woman."

"Oh, she is," Toshiro looked at the photo and for the smallest moment, a ghost of a smile appeared on his face.

Momo studied Toshiro as he continued to look at the picture in silence. He was young, incredibly young. His white spikey hair was unruly and gave the impression he had just woken up from a nap. His large, wide set turquoise eyes gave the appearance of someone infinitely wise beyond their years. He was short, but well built. Even under his collar shirt, Momo could tell that he was muscular and well defined. By now, his face had returned to its usual scowl, his eyebrows furrowing.

He was handsome, she decided to herself. Undeniably handsome. And young. He could possibly be around her age.

"Er, professor, may I ask a question?" Momo said.

"It's Doctor Hitsugaya," Toshiro corrected. "And sure."

"I don't mean to pry, but how old are you?"

"Twenty-two."

Momo's eyes grew wide at this answer. This man here, her boss, was a full year younger than herself. "That's incredible. You've accomplished so much for being so young."

Toshiro sighed, as though he heard this comment all too often. "Yes well, I've worked hard to be here. But I don't have tenure so I still need to be on top of my performance. Speaking of which, did you grade all the tests as I asked?" Just like that, the cold, emotionless Toshiro was back.

"Yes, they are on the table." Momo pointed to where the files lay. "I even took the liberty of arranging them in alphabetical order."

"Thank you." Toshiro walked over to the tests and picked up the pile. He began to quickly flip through the pages, scanning Momo's work. "This should suffice. I'm sorry that the professor you were originally assigned with resigned last minute and you're stuck grading instead of researching."

"That's alright," Momo said. "It happens. Thank you for taking me on."

Toshiro nodded. "It's just a shame Doctor Aizen had to leave so suddenly."

At his name, Momo's face lost its serene expression for the smallest second. Toshiro swore that the bright light in her large, chocolate eyes temporarily extinguished upon hearing his name.

"Professor A-Aizen was supposed to be my mentor?" Her voice shook a little, but Toshiro did not notice.

"Yes, unfortunately, something I can't discuss with you came up and he was given the choice. He either could resign or wait until the board of directors fired him."

"Ohh..." By now, Momo's voice was noticeably quieter.

"Did you know Doctor Aizen?" Toshiro asked. He was puzzled by the young woman's reaction. Perhaps, he figured, she had known him and did not yet know of his departure.

"I... I had him for two of my undergraduate classes. I did not know he had left." Momo answered, finally managing to calm her voice down.

"Well, we cannot control the circumstances of his leave," Toshiro said. "So until a replacement is hired, we will work with each other as best we can."

"Of course prof- Doctor Hitsugaya," Momo said, correcting herself. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"Not right now." He looked around his office to make sure. "No, I think you are fine to take a break for lunch. Be back here in an hour, but please, do not come early. I'll be taking a nap and don't appreciate being woken up."

"I will see you after lunch," Momo said and promptly left the room.


	5. Chapter 5

Momo spent the rest of the day organizing and filing Toshiro's notes and powerpoints for his summer class. She sat in a chair he brought for her at the edge of his desk. The Doctor himself left a few hours after lunch for his lab, promising to return in time to collect the work Momo had done before she was to head home.

Momo jumped as the first crash of thunder echoed through the room. She quickly put down the paper she was working on and walked over to the window. Sure enough, since lunch the sky had grown thick with grey clouds. Momo could see the tree branches sway with the heavy winds as a light rain began to fall. After a few moments, another harsh clap of thunder was heard and Momo once again jumped.

"Great," she muttered to herself. "I'm all alone and there's thunder." She wasn't willing to admit just how badly she was afraid of thunderstorms, but a sinking feeling had developed in her stomach. Shaking, she slowly sat back down at her previous station, put in her headphones and tried to drown out the sound of the storm as she continued to work.

It didn't work. Even with music playing, the windows of the old academic building rattled with each clap of thunder. Outside, the rain turned from a light shower to a full on flood.

By now, Momo was visibly shaking as she tried to remain calm. Another particularly loud clap of thunder broke her resolve all together and she jumped out of her chair and landed on the floor. She moved against the wall and curled her legs to her chest, resting her chin on the top of her knees. Maybe if she were to stay here in as small a ball as possible, the storm would quickly pass.

The minutes passed by like years as Momo attempted to wait out the storm on her own. By now, tears formed in her eyes as she began to lose her ability to stay relatively calm.

"Damn, this is one storm isn't- what are you doing down there?"

Momo looked up from her ball of self-preservation to find Toshiro studying her, a concerned look on his face.

"I'm- I'm sorry Doctor but the storm-" Before she could finish, a clap of thunder sounded, sending the young girl into a series of shivers and shakes.

"Don't tell me you're afraid of thunder." His voice was stern, but the hint of concern could not be missed.

"A-a little," Momo said, too embarrassed to meet his eyes.

Toshiro sighed at the cowering grad student before walking over to her. He sat down right next to her and wrapped an awkward hand around her in a feeble attempt at a comforting side huge. "It'll be over soon. Don't worry."

"I know I just- eep!" The loudest clap of thunder yet sent Momo a few inches into the air. Instinctively, she reached out to Toshiro, clutching the fabric of his shirt for support.

Rather than wait for her to let go, Toshiro decided that if she needed to hold onto him to get through this storm, then so be it. He moved his hands shyly over her own. Her hands, unlike his, were warm. Very warm. The contrast of her warmth against his icy skin caused his mind to focus solely on were his hands met her own.

They sat there in silence for another quarter of an hour before the howling of the wind and the harsh patter of rain against the window began to calm down. Momo lay against Toshiro's chest, absentmindedly grabbing onto his shirt as though her life depended on it. After a while, she began to focus on his soft breathing and steady heartbeat and found a strange serene comfort from lying wrapped up in the arms of the young man. Toshiro sat there trying not to focus on the smell of Momo's perfume or the smooth feel of her skin against his. No, he told himself firmly, he was merely being a good samaritan and comforting a young, frightened girl. That was all.

Several minutes passed before Toshiro finally let go of Momo and looked out the window.

"I think it's stopped now."

Momo nodded and stood up slowly, looking at the window herself. Though the sky was still grey, there was no rain and thunder.

"I'm sorry about that, Doctor Hitsugaya," Momo said feebly.

"Don't be. We all have our fears," Toshiro said calmly.

"Fear or not, you shouldn't have to take care of me. I'm not a child you have to hold."

"I didn't mind holding you." At these words, both Toshiro and Momo blushed a brilliant shade of red. Toshiro quickly avoided eye contact with Momo as he attempted to correct his statement. "I mean- I didn't mind comforting you. You were scared."

"Thank you," Momo said, still blushing from before. "Hopefully, we have no more storms this summer."

"If there are, I'll just protect you like I did today," Toshiro thought to himself. Rather, he thought he said to himself. In reality, he muttered the words out loud, just loud enough for Momo to hear.

"You don't have to protect me sir," Momo said, blushing so deeply that she was unable to look anywhere in Hitsugaya's direction. Instead, she stared down at the floor as she twirled her fists in her shirt, desperate for a distraction.

"I- I um," Toshiro stuttered, still in shock he had said those words out loud. He didn't know what was more surprising. His willingness to protect her, or the fact that he felt as though it was his duty to make sure that the young girl was safe and sound at all times. Surely that was just part of his job as a professor, he reasoned. He had to make sure that his own assistant was fine. This must be the reason he was so concerned about her, he rationalized to himself. He cared about her since she was assigned to him.

Even in his mind, Toshiro knew that this was not the full truth, but he pushed aside the thought and returned to the conversation.

"Um, yes well, I think that's all for today. You may leave now." He quickly turned to his desk to hide his blush.

"Thank you," Momo said, nodding not her head at his words. "Same time tomorrow?"

"Yes, meet me here."

"Alright, I will be here, but my do I wish I had better shoes for walking. It must be flooded out there." Momo said, desperately trying to break the tension in the room between them.

"Walk? You mean you don't own a car?" Toshiro said, looking up from the work he was failing to distract himself with.

"No, there's no need. I live four blocks away."

"Four blocks!" At this, Toshiro stood up and opened the desk drawer to grab his keys. "I'm not having you walk four blocks on streets running with water. It's practically flooding outside! No, I'll take you home myself."

"Are... Are you sure? I have no problem walking at all, Doctor," Momo said. "Please don't let me burden you."

"No, I'll drive you home. It will only take ten minutes of my time."

Momo could tell there was no persuading Toshiro otherwise and quietly grabbed her bag and followed him out to the staff parking lot. They climbed into his car in silence, the air still thick with tension.

"Where to?" He asked.

"The apartments on 4th and main," Momo answered. "Thank you again."

"It's no problem," Toshiro said with a soft smile. He then decided to try and break the tension in the car. "Do you have a lot of roommates?"

"Only one, Nanao. She's still working on her undergraduate, but boy is she the hardest worker I have ever met. A stickler too. Nothing gets past her. Although Shuhei and Kira are always over they may as well live with us."

At the mention of the boys, Toshiro's facial expressions faltered for the briefest of moments. "These are your boyfriends?" He asked, straining his voice to come off as casually as possible. Internally, he cursed himself for being so interested in her answer.

"Oh no," Momo said with a small giggle caused Toshiro's stomach to tighten. "They are just are good friends. I've known them since high school. We grew up together."

It was only when he exhaled that he realized he had been holding his breath. Under no circumstances would Toshiro ever admit the relief he felt upon hearing her answer.

"That's fun," he said simply. "I never had roommates."

"Then how did you ever get to meet anybody?" Momo asked. "It's part of the college experience!"

"You forget, I was thirteen. I didn't have a normal college experience. I had little friends, just accomplices."

"That sounds lonely," Momo said with brutal honesty. Before Toshiro could answer, her voice rang out in the car, breaking his thought. "Oh, here it is! And look, Kira's waiting for me!"

Toshiro pulled to the curb of the apartment complex and looked up. Sure enough, standing on the sidewalk holding an umbrella was a tall, blonde young man.

"Thank you again, Doctor Hitsugaya!" Momo said with a smile. "I will see you tomorrow. Same time, same place!" With that, she bounced out of the car.

As Toshiro pulled back into the road and began to drive away, he couldn't help but watch the girl walk up to her friend and envelope him in a big hug.

Just friends, Toshiro snorted to himself. They don't look simple like friends to me.

At these words, his scowl grew. He didn't know why he was feeling this way, but he knew that he had to remain professional, strictly professional, with the young girl. He was in no position to do otherwise.

Despite this, he couldn't help but admit to himself that somehow today she had managed to capture his attention.

A/N: I think the chapters are gonna get a bit long from here. I'm not a fan of fics with like, fifty chapters, so I'll try and keep this close to around 20 or so. Anyway here's another!


	6. Chapter 6

The next two weeks passed rather uneventfully. Each morning, Momo would arrive at Toshiro's office. He would quickly assign her a few tasks for the day before heading off to his summer school class. When he wasn't teaching, Toshiro spent the rest of his Ike wrapped up in the lab. Momo did not mind. The professor kept her plenty busy and she was happy she could help him in anyway she could.

One Friday morning, Momo was sitting at her regular seat in the corner of Toshiro's office filing test results from his summer class when she heard a knock on the door.

"Coming!" Momo cried out as she walked over to the door.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMO!" Kira exclaimed. He was standing in the doorway with a bouquet of pink and red roses. Attached to the flowers was a small balloon in the shape of a birthday cake.

"Oh Kira! You shouldn't have!" Momo said gushing at her best friend.

"I'm sorry, I had too," the blonde man said with a smile. "I figured your boring day doing paperwork could use a little something to make the day special."

"Well thank you, they're beautiful," Momo said as she grabbed the bouquet of flowers and held them close to her face. "And it's not boring. It may not be the most exciting thing in the world, but at least I can help the Doctor."

"Speaking of which, where is he?" Kira said as he looked around the empty office.

"He's at his lab. At least that's where he usually is this time on a Friday."

"I don't know why he doesn't have you help him with his research. You're brilliant." Kira said.

At his words, Momo blushed. "I am not, stop exaggerating. And you know I'm not an organic chemist. I took the class and barely passed."

"Yeah, barely passed with an A," Kira said sarcastically.

"Still, that was the class for non-chemistry majors. What Doctor Hitsugaya does is way beyond my talent level."

"You don't give yourself enough credit," Kira said gently. He then glanced at the watch on his wrist. "Well, I'm technically not on break or lunch so I need to head back to the library before they notice I'm gone. It's not like it's busy in their during summer, but I'd rather my boss not chew me out for disappearing."

"That's probably the best," Momo said as she stood up to walk with him to the door. "You're going out with us tonight, right?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world. Besides, your birthday or not, you know how much I love Gentle Ben's." He then reached down to give Momo one last hug. "Have a great rest of your day Momo. And happy birthday. Again."

Kira's visit left Momo in a better mood than before he had stopped by. She quickly set back to work, smiling and humming to herself. An half hour passed by so quickly that Momo did not notice Toshiro return to his office to gather his lunch for his break.

"Nice flowers," Toshiro said dryly.

"Thanks," Momo gushed. "Kira brought them for my birthday. He's so thoughtful!"

At these words, Toshiro's face faltered. If his memory served correctly, Kira was the friend who had embraced her in an overly friendly hug the day he had driven Momo home. She had said that they weren't dating, but what friend gives roses to a girl he isn't interested in?

Toshiro didn't know what bothered him more. The smallest bit of jealously he was feeling or the fact that he was feeling it at all.

Part of him always wish he had known it was Momo's birthday. If it wasn't for the bright balloon, he would never have known.

"So it's your birthday? Happy birthday. You're what? Twenty one? Twenty two?"

"Twenty three actually," Momo said sheepishly. "I'm older than my own boss."

"By six months," Toshiro said. "I turn twenty three in December."

"I'll remember that," Momo said with a smile.

"So do you have any exciting plans?" Toshiro said. The past few weeks had been such a whirlwind that he had barely had time to talk with his young grad student that intrigued him so much.

"Not really. I think we are going bar hopping tonight. Nothing much. I'm twenty three, not twenty one. Birthdays stop being as exciting after that."

"Oh, well I hope you and your friends have a good night," Toshiro said, more out of politeness than anything else.

"Thanks. I know we will. Kira always goes out of his way to make sure I have a good time."

"Kira's the one who brought you the flowers?" Toshiro asked as casually as he could.

"Yes, what a great best friend!" Momo exclaimed innocently.

"Are you sure you're not more than friends?"

The instant the question left his lips, Toshiro regretted his words. Across from him, Momo furrowed her brow, confused at his question.

"No, we are just friends. I've already said so."

Toshiro cursed himself internally. She remembered he had already asked that question and was probably convinced by now that Toshiro was creeping about her personal life.

"Oh, silly. I forgot," he said with a forced smile.

"That's alright," Momo said with a giggle. "You have so much on your plate that I'm sure you forget so much!"

"How about this," Toshiro said changing the subject. "It's your birthday. Why don't you go home and take the rest of the day off?"

"Are you sure? I'm not done with the work you gave me this morning."

"No, it's fine," Toshiro insisted. "It can wait until Monday. Go and enjoy your night. I'll see you at eight thirty Monday morning."

"Thank you!" Momo said as she grabbed the flowers, balloon and her stuff before leaving. "Have a great weekend Doctor Hitsugaya!"

Toshiro spent the rest of his lunch break fuming at his desk trying to convince himself that he was not, in fact, concerned about the roses Momo had received.

You can only convince yourself you don't care for so long and little did Toshiro know that he was approaching the breaking point.

"Why me?" Toshiro asked. He knew he was losing this argument, but it didn't matter. He wasn't going down without a fight.

* * *

"I told you Toshiro, all of us are going out tonight. You haven't joined a staff event in ages. Live a little. You're too young to stay cooped up in your lab all the time." Ukitake knew that the young man was caving and decided to be relentless.

Toshiro sighed. Yes, he hadn't joined the staff outside of work in months but there was a reason for that. Toshiro was a loner and preferred to get his work done with as little distraction as possible. Drunken outings with coworkers was not Toshiro's idea of a fun night.

Despite this, Ukitake had spent the last quarter of an hour putting up the best argument possible.

"Fine," Toshiro said through clenched teeth. "I'll be there."

"Excellent!" Ukitake said, clapping his hands with excitement. "Kyoraku will be pleased."

"I'm thrilled," Toshiro said sarcastically. "What time again?"

"Oh, like eight or so. You know us old ones. Can't stay out too late."

"Fine, just because it's early and you put up such a fight, I'll be there."

"Wonderful!" Said Ukitake, his smile lighting up his face. "I'll see you tonight at Gentle Bens!"

"Momo! Everyone's waiting. Are you dressed yet?" Nanao's voiced called out in their apartment.

"Almost! Let me put my shoes on!"

"That girl," Nanao said with a shrug. She turned to their friends waiting in the kitchen. "On time for everything but her own birthday party."

"Hey! Im here now!" Momo walked down the stairs from their bedrooms and into the kitchen. She was in black jeans, a light, sheer white tank top with a black lace bralette underneath and black heels. She had abandoned her usual bun to let her hair flow freely. Her hair was softly curled and her makeup was all done.

"You look good," Nanao said with a smile. Besides her, Isane nodded her head in agreement.

Kira stood in the corner trying not to blush as he caught sight of Momo all dressed up.

"Let's go!" Momo said to the small group. "I'm hungry and need a drink!"

"Another round boys!" Kyoraku exclaimed. Around him, all the professors that had gathered exclaimed with joy. All except Toshiro.

He was beginning to regret coming. For grown men, his coworkers were rambunctious and loud. Everyone was drinking and enjoying themselves. By now, even Toshiro had had a few drinks, more to get through the night than anything else.

"This year's gonna be the best one yet!" At this, everyone else began to cheer and raise their glasses in mindless toasts.

"I need a break," Toshiro muttered to himself in his drunken state. As he was getting up to go to the bar, Ukitake looked over at him.

"Where you going Shiro?"

"Please don't call me that," Toshiro said with a sigh. "I'm gonna get a drink. I'll be back in a bit."

He left before anyone else could answer and headed over to the large bar that took up the entire back half of the pub. He ordered another beer and sat down in the only vacant seat at the counter. Toshiro was enjoying his moment of peace when a familiar voice rang out through the air.

"Hold on guys. Let me just get another drink and I'll join you!"

He turned to see Momo, his young grad student strutting over to the bar. He felt his heart beat quicken and his face flush as he looked her up and down. He had known she was beautiful from the first day they met, but frankly Momo dressed more like a librarian than a young woman fresh out of her undergrad. Not today. Toshiro had to swallow the lump in his throat as he came to a new realization.

Momo was hot. Smoking hot.

His eyes looked up and down her slim figure. The black pants she wore made her look both taller and leaner. The shirt showed off her thin stomach and nice cleavage. Her hair was no longer up but was down and framed her face.

Before Toshiro knew what he was doing, he turned to the bartender. "Her drink is on me."

"Yes sir," the bartender said with a smirk as he went about mixing her order.

Momo had not seen him and Toshiro avoided eye contact in hopes that she could collect her drink and be on her way. He was to drunk to realize the possibility of being singled out until it was too late.

"Miss," the bartender said with a smile. "The man in the white hair paid for this. He looks charming."

"White hair?" Momo's face scrunched up as her mind tried to process the information. She then turned towards Toshiro. The instant she saw him, her eyes grew wide and she practically ran in his direction. "Doctor! Why are you here?"

"Coworker bonding," Toshiro said as he raised his glass. He was not sure who was more drunk, Momo or himself, but he decided a friendly conversation never hurt anyone. "And how is your birthday going?"

Momo giggled madly at his question, more from being drunk than his actual words. "Want to know a secret?" Momo whispered. "Everyone's buying me drinks so I might be drunk."

"Well, sit down Momo and have another on me."

Momo simply nodded, a wide grin on her face. She sat down next to Toshiro and continued to sip on her drink, smiling and giggling every three seconds.

"Does your wife know you're here?" Momo asked after awhile. She picked up the small plastic sword that had held the cherries in her drink and was dragging it drunkingly across her lips. Toshiro had to force himself to look away from Momo's full, pink lips and to look into her eyes.

"Wife?" Toshiro questioned. "Where did you hear I have a wife?"

"I just figured," Momo said. "So does she know?"

Toshiro chuckled ever so softly. "I don't have a wife Momo. I'm not attached to anyone like that at the moment." Why he felt the need to add that last part was beyond him.

"Oh." Momo's face returned to her drunken confused expression. "But how can someone as smart and good looking as you not be taken?"

Toshiro's face perked up at her unintentional compliment. He smirked. "So you think I'm good looking?"

Momo took another gulp of her drink. "I never said that." She then broke out into another round of giggles.

"Yes you did." His smirk only grew stronger.

"Well," Momo said matter of factly. "Maybe I do think you're good looking. What does it matter? I'm a disappointment. You're just too polite to tell me so." At the last sentence, Momo's face fell.

"How are you a disappointment?" Toshiro said softly.

Momo finished her drink and turned to the bartender to order another one. Only after getting a refill did she return to Toshiro. "We both know that your research is so far above my intelligence."

Toshiro reached out and placed a comforting hand on Momo's shoulder. "We just study different things, that's all Momo. I'm only your temporary mentor after all."

"No that's not just it," Momo said as she furiously shook her head back and forth. "I read one of your publishings on your work with epoxides. I didn't understand any of it. I'm so stupid you won't let me work in your lab. I'm so sorry I'm so stupid." By now, her eyes were filling with drunken tears.

Toshiro reached out a soft hand and wiped the few tears that had escaped from Momo's cheeks. "Look Momo, I'm sorry if I made you feel inadequate. Starting Monday you can come into my lab and help me."

"So, so you don't think I'm worthless?" Momo said, looking up at Toshiro with a hopeful look on her face.

"No, I'd never think youre worthless," Toshiro said softly, his voice barely more than a whisper. Neither of them had realized how close they had moved to each other as the conversation progresses. Toshiro was inches away from Momo's face, but his eyes could not help but stare at Momo's large chocolate ones that were looking at him with such raw emotion. "Momo," he said again. "I'd never think you're worthless. You are too smart and kind and beautiful."

"You... You think I'm beautiful?" Momo asked as she moved even closer to Toshiro. By now, he could hear the pounding of his heart beat in his ears and he was sure it had little to do with the amount of alcohol he had consumed earlier.

"I think you're so beautiful," Toshiro said. "You're so beautiful that it makes me want to cover you up so these men can't stare at your body."

Momo did not reply. She sat there silently, a mere inch away from Toshiro. Her breathing had sped up and her eyes could not stop looking for his eyes to his lips and back again. She reached out and put a hand on his chest, gripping the fabric of his shirt between her fingers. Meanwhile, Toshiro slowly moved a hand to her chin, moving her face to ensure that her eyes were on his own.

Before either of them could move, a voice broke the attention of the pair.

"Momo! There you are. You said you were just getting a- who is this?"

Toshiro snapped out of his trance to look over and see a woman with black hair and glasses standing by the pair. Besides her was the blonde man earlier identified as Momo's friend Kira. The one, Toshiro realized with a grimace, who had showered her with roses and embraced her when she returned home from school.

"Oh! Nano! Hi! I just got distracted," Momo said with a giggle. Her usual, cheerful mood had returned. "This is Shiro, my doctor. I mean, my Shiro, the professor."

"What she means to say is I'm Doctor Hitsugaya. Momo works in my lab."

"Works in your lab? I thought you didn't allow her in there?" The words came out cold. Kira had no intention of hiding his dislike for the young white haired man. Only moments before he was getting unnecessarily close to Momo.

"We were just discussing that actually," Toshiro said just as coldly. "Momo is to be in my lab on Monday."

"Oh I'm sure that's exactly what you were about to discuss..." Kira said with a scowl.

"Well, I think we should go?" Nanao said suddenly as she judged Momo's condition. "She's far too drunk to bar hop. I should take her home."

"Good plan," said Kira. He moved to help Momo up from her chair.

Momo stood up, now clearly disorientated and fully lost in her own world. She turned to Toshiro, giggled and then said, "Nanao says I have to go now and Nanao is always right. I'll see you on Monday Shiro!"

"Shiro?" Toshiro asked, unable to mask his dislike.

"Doctor Hitsugaya makes you sound so...old," Momo instead. "So I'll call you Shiro. Now I must go now!" With that, Momo followed Nanao out of the bar and onto the other side of the restaurant.

Before Toshiro could return back to his drink, he realized that Kira was still in the corner, glaring at him.

"Can I help you?" Toshiro asked. Normally, he would not have been so bold, but the alcohol in his veins had helped him change his mind.

"No," Kira said simply. "Just be careful. Momo's not some toy you can play with Professor. Don't hurt her and I won't have to hurt you."

Kira turned around to follow Momo and Nanao to wait for a can. Toshiro returned to his drink and downed it, immediately wishing for a distraction to keep his mind off the young brunette.

A/N: that was so fucking long! Anyway here it is :) in about two chapters it might start getting good so until then comment. Esp if you have cute idea you may want to see or not. I have the plot but fluff scenes can be suggested!


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: And here is another one! The good news is that the other story I have been working on is finally making progress! I should have an update for that by the end of the day! Thank goodness. Anyway, here is another. Reviews are always great. :)

Within seconds of waking up, Toshiro's mind was filled with regret.

He regretted the numerous drinks that led to his killer headache. He regretted allowing Ukitake to coax him into coworker bonding that he ultimately did not enjoy. He regretted getting so drunk he took a taxi home, causing him to currently be walking the mile and a half to pick up his car.

But most of all, Toshiro regretted telling his young grad student that he had found her beautiful. Liquid courage or not, Toshiro had openly admitted that his only desire was to keep her for himself.

Of course that wasn't true. That was just a drunk thought.

Toshiro kept both hands in his pockets as he casually strolled down the sidewalks of downtown. It was still relatively early so the sidewalks were barren. This gave him plenty of time to think and clear his mind.

Surely it was just the alcohol that had caused him to say those things, he reasoned. And with any luck, Momo's memory will be a giant blur. She was very drunk.

Despite this, Toshiro's mind betrayed him. He kept playing out last night. His head had been swirling from the alcohol, but that didn't change how vividly he remembered Momo leaning into him and grabbing onto his shirt as though to ensure that he wouldn't leave. He also wouldn't forget how goddamn happy he was that she thought he was clever and handsome. He certainly wouldn't forget how attractive she was. His cheeks blushed pink at the thought.

So Toshiro wandered along the road to his car, trying to erase these inappropriate thoughts from his mind. Once he reached his car he drove to a popular local coffee shop. He walked in to find Ichigo already waiting for him.

Ichigo Kurosaki was one of the few people who could call Toshiro Hitsugaya their friend. Ichigo and Toshiro had met at the gym and they had been work out partners ever since. Ichigo was in medical school and his days were filled with classes and studying, but the pair still found time to work out a few times each week as well as grab coffee every Saturday morning.

Toshiro ordered his breakfast and headed to where Ichigo sat.

"You look awful," was the first thing out of Ichigo's mouth.

"I got persuaded to go to a 'staff bonding' night yesterday. I feel awful," Toshiro said sipping his coffee.

"Good," said Ichigo. "You need to get out more."

"I'm fine how I am thanks."

"No need to snap," Ichigo said with a smirk. "I'm not the reason you're hungover."

At this, Toshiro's expression softened. Ichigo was right. There was no need to take out his frustration on his friend. "So you said you had something big to discuss?"

"Oh, yeah about that," Ichigo ran his hands through his hair and grinned sheepishly. "I gonna ask Rukia to marry me."

For as long as Toshiro had known the orange-haired man, Rukia had been by his side. The two balanced each other perfectly and Toshiro had only expected it was a matter of time before they married.

"Really? Congrats!" Toshiro said with true enthusiasm. "Have you decided when you'll ask her?"

Ichigo shook his head. "I haven't gotten that far. Hell, I don't even have a ring. I decided maybe ten minutes before I told you I wanted to discuss something today."

"Well still, congratulations," Toshiro said with earnest. "Rukia's perfect for you."

"I know she is," Ichigo said with a dreamy look on his face. "But what about you Toshiro? We need to find you a nice girl."

Toshiro did not reply to Ichigo, suddenly distracted by the two figures that had just walked into the coffee shop. The first was the stern-looking brunette with glasses that he had seen last night at the bar. The second was Momo.

She looked tired, clearly still feeling the effects of last night. Her hair was back in a real bun and she wore running shorts and an old university t-shirt. She had not seen Toshiro and was focused on ordering her meal.

Ichigo noticed Toshiro's removal from their conversation and raised an eyebrow at his friends distracted expression. He looked at Toshiro and followed his line of sight, his gaze resting on Momo as she paid the cashier. "Like what you see?" Ichigo asked with a smirk.

"Oh shut up," Toshiro scowled, his cheeks turning pink.

"She's cute. Go talk to her."

"It's not what it looks like. She's one of the grad students in my lab."

"Oh, you so you already know her. Have you made a move?" Ichigo winked at Toshiro knowing it would fluster him more.

"It's not like that," Toshiro barked. "She works for me."

"Then why are you staring?"

"I'm just checking to see if she's alright. I ran into her at Gentle Ben's last night and she was quite intoxicated."

"I'm sure that's not the only thing you're checking out." Ichigo laughed.

"She works for me Ichigo." Toshiro said, the sentence coming out as more of a question than a statement.

"Isn't that just frowned upon? Not specifically banned?"

"Yes, but I don't have tenure and I won't for awhile. I can't just do whatever I want."

"You mean whoever you want," Ichigo said with another wink.

"I SAID SHUT UP!"

His yell was louder than either of them expected and the rest of the customers sitting around them grew silent to look at the pair. Toshiro blushed with embarrassment as Ichigo tried to casually return to his coffee. After a few seconds, the attention of the surrounding patrons stopped being on the pair but it was too late, Momo had already seen Toshiro and was walking over.

"Hello Doctor, nice seeing you today," she said with a smile as she approached their table.

Toshiro could feel a slight blush come across his cheeks as he saw Ichigo studying his every expression. "Good morning Momo. I'm glad to see they got you home safely last night."

A look of confusion crossed Momo's face. Toshiro could only reason that Momo did not, in fact, remember seeing him the night before. "I'm sorry?" She asked shyly.

"I ran into last night at the bar," he said simply. "You seemed to be... Enjoying yourself."

At these words, Momo's face fell as embarrassment coursed through her body. She had seen him last night, and blacked out drunk at that! He was the professor she was working under, the professor she was trying so hard to please and she had been fully intoxicated.

"I... I ummm," Momo stuttered. "I made a fool of myself didn't I?"

"No, you were judging enjoying your birthday," Toshiro said reassuringly. He was internally relieved. If anyone has made a fool of themselves, it had been him. The fact that Momo had no memory of their encounter comforted him.

He would not admit that a small part of him wanted Momo to remember his unintentional confession.

"Oh. Good." Momo said before looking over to where her roommate had sat down. "Um, I need to go back and sit with Nanao my roommate. It was nice seeing you."

"Damn," Ichigo said, breaking Toshiro's thought. He had been gazing at Momo as she walked back to her roommate. "Someone's got it bad."

"I do not," Toshiro said with less vigor than his previous denials.

"I've never seen you so polite to anyone before," Ichigo said with a smile.

"I'm polite."

"Not like that."

Toshiro sighed. "I just don't know what's gotten into me. She's fascinated me since the first time she walked into my office."

"There's the honesty I'm looking for," Ichigo said with a soft smile. "And who would have thought that you would find someone who'd melt those thick layers of ice around your cold heart."

"I didn't find anyone," Toshiro said back. "I'm pretty sure she's involved with this one guy. I think Kira is his name. And at the end of the day she still works under me. Look, Ichigo, this whole ordeal isn't really something I want to think about right now."

"Fair enough," Ichigo said. He had gotten the truth out of Toshiro and that was all that mattered. If his blonde friend was not ready to discuss his desire for the girl, he would wait. "Now, once I have a ring, how should I propose to Rukia?"


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Hi guys! I have good news... Well good new for you. It's actually pretty shitty news for me. So I'm a college swimmer and guess what, I just fractured my back. Yup. It happened. So now, instead of training nine times a week I have three weeks of doing basically nothing. This means I should be updating every other day until this story is complete. Yay! I also have another one in the works. Since I'm new to the Bleach fanfiction community, all the reviews make me just want to update more so thank you and keep them coming. :)

"You can't avoid Kira forever," Nanao said sternly.

The two roommates were sitting in the far corner of one of the city's most popular coffee shops. Momo had woken up early that morning with a raging headache and little memory of the night before. What she did remember, however, had been enough to encourage her to keep drinking.

"Yes I can. I'm gonna try."

"Momo, I don't know why you are so surprised by his actions. He's liked you forever."

Momo rolled her eyes. That was Nanao, always logical and reasonable. "That doesn't mean he can try to kiss me. He knows I don't like him. And now he's gone and made it all awkward between us."

"Be the bigger person Momo," Nanao said simply. "After all, you're not the one who was rejected. Again, if I may add."

"Whatever," Momo said with a sigh. She looked down at her coffee, trying to focus on stirring the top layer foam. "But this has to stop Nanao. I'll never like him in...that way."

"Oh, trust me I know." Nanao's voice had an uncharacteristic layer of smugness to it.

"What the hell does that mean?"

"You tell me," Nanao said. "You know, I can tell every time you look over at that man with the white hair. You're not very sneaky."

"Nanao!" Momo said, color rising in her cheeks. "Don't say that so loud."

"Oh, Momo. I don't know why not. After the way you were clinging to him last night, I'm sure he understands you want him."

At this, Momo's face turned into a mixed expression of half horror and half embarrassment. "What did I do last night?" She was almost too afraid to hear the answer.

"Well, after you disappeared to the bar, I came looking for you after awhile. You two were certainly all cozy. But don't worry, he was just as drunk. There's a good chance he doesn't remember either."

"It's not what it looks," Momo said frantically. "There's nothing going on with Doctor Hitsugaya and I."

"Don't you mean Shiro?" Nanao smiled softly. It was rare for Momo to be in such a predicament and she was savoring every last drop of Momo's growing mortification.

"Shiro?" Now Momo was just plain confused.

"That's what you kept calling him last night. I wouldn't have know he was Doctor Hitsugaya unless he had said so."

"Goddamn it!" Momo threw her hand down on the table, not knowing what to do. "I did make a fool of myself."

"Momo, just be honest with me. I know drunk Momo likes him. That much was very obvious. But what about sober Momo?"

"Ummm," Momo took a sip of her coffee as she avoided Nanao's gaze. Her eyes involuntarily looked over to where Toshiro sat with his orange haired friend. The two were laughing at something. "Ummm, sober Momo doesn't know."

"You don't?" Nanao raised an eyebrow.

"It's just... Look he's technically my boss. I know I'm older than him and everything but that doesn't change anything."

"He's only your boss for the summer Momo. And besides, it's wouldn't be breaking any rules. It's not like..." Nanao's voiced trailed off. She didn't need to finish the sentence. Both Momo and her knew exactly what Nanao was referencing.

At this, Momo grew quiet and timid. "I'm not gonna let that happen to me again."

"I know Momo," Nanao said as she reached out a comforting hand. "But can I say this? You haven't dated since. He looks nice. Yes, there may be some complications between positions at work but wait two months and you will be fine. Just get to know him. You seem to like him."

"I'm not ready for a relationship."

"Then why do you keep looking over at him?"

Momo sighed. "I just... I don't know. Anyway, I know he doesn't think of me in that way."

"How do you know? Has he said?" Asked Nanao.

"No, but he never talks to me. He gives me instructions and leaves. He doesn't seem to think I can be of any use to him in his research. Face it Nanao, he probably thinks that I'm this burden he has to work with all summer."

"Then show him you're not," Nanao said simply.

"It's not that easy," Momo said with a sigh. "I understand that it may be for you. Hell, you're still studying your undergrad and Doctor Kyoraku invited you to work in his lab months ago. That's not me. I'm smart, but not the smartest. He's a genius. A literal genius. I can't keep up with him."

"I don't know what to say Momo," Nanao said finally. "If you know he has no interest, then just try and stay professional with him. Being strictly professional won't hurt anyone."

"Strictly professional, right," Momo said nodding.

"And now about Kira."

Momo groaned. "I don't want to talk to him."

"Momo, please just think about setting him straight before you break his heart."

"Fine," Momo grumbled. "I love and hate how sensible you can be at times."

"Whatever," Nanao said seriously. "Eat your scone."

* * *

Toshiro spent the rest of the weekend in sheer panic towards the prospect of being with Momo on Monday morning. Now that he had admitted to himself the he was, no matter how mildly, attracted to the girl, the idea of being with her alone in a lab for hours was enough to tie his stomach in a knot.

Come Monday, he was pleasantly surprised to find that Momo was nothing more than her usual, polite self. If anything, she was being extra polite and professional. Toshiro figured that this was her way of making him feel as though he would not regret allowing her into his lab.

"Momo, did you prepare the 5 molar KNO3 like I asked?" Toshiro said as he studied the round bottom flask that was currently attached to the reflux condenser.

"Yes professor, here it is!" Momo said as she walked over to where Toshiro was standing, bottle in hand. When Toshiro reached out to grab the compound, he felt his thumb brush again Momo's soft skin. He quickly turned before she could make out the slight blush that had developed in his cheeks.

If he had been looking, he would have seen Momo turn away for the exact same reason. She too was affected by the smallest contact with his skin.

Shaking off the incident first, Toshiro broke the silence between them. "Look carefully now Momo. When I add three milliliters of this potassium nitrate, it will help serve as a catalyst for the reaction. We will know that the reaction has been successful when the solution turns light grey." He carefully poured the potassium nitrate into the flask. Within seconds, the solution began to change color. "The full procedure that we have performed must always be prepared to isolate the compound that I desire to work on. This will be your job. You will perform this procedure and then take the product and have it undergo crystallization. Collect these crystals. I will be using them for my experiments. Do you need anything to be further explained?"

Momo shook her head. "No professor. Purify the solution, perform crystallization, store the crystals for your further research."

"Very good," Toshiro nodded. "Everything's in the storage area. I need about 100 grams of crystals every week. All the experiments I perform require them. You may-" He stopped and looked down at the pocket of his lab coat. It was glowing. He pulled out his phone which was quietly vibrating. "Hold on, I need to take this call."

Momo watched as Toshiro stepped out of the room. She had been surprised upon coming into work to find that it was easier than expected to remain professional with her young boss. After all, she needed to make a good impression for him if he was going to allow her to work in his lab.

The sound of the door hinge speaking signalled to Momo of Toshiro's return. She looked towards the young doctor. He looked slightly frustrated.

"I'm afraid we have to stop our work for right now," he said with a sigh.

"What? But we just got here."

"I know, but that was my neighbor. He found my dog wandering in his garden. Damn animal must have jumped the wall again. I swear, it's like he can fly. Anyway, I have to go and get him and first year grad students cannot be in a lab alone so you're goning to have to come with me."

At Toshiro's explanation, Momo's face lit up. "You have a dog?"

"Yeah, Hyorinmaru," at the thought of his dog, Toshiro's face softened up slightly.

"Awe! I love animals!" Momo said with a large smile.

"Well, we have to go now before he gets into anymore trouble." Toshiro began to take off his lab coat and goggles. "You can leave your things in here. We will be back as soon as the little rascal is back where he needs to be."

Momo nodded and folded her lab coat to place it next to the rest of her things. She followed Toshiro to his car in silence.

"So what kind of dog is he?" Momo asked without trying to make it obvious that she enjoyed this newly exposed personal side of him.

"A German shepherd," Toshiro said happily. "He's such a loyal dog. Follows me around everywhere. He's good company too. So do you have a dog?"

Momo shook her head. "No, just a cat. Tobiume. She's a small little thing, but you should never underestimate her. She's nice to everyone, but once you show her something she doesn't like she just snaps." Momo laughed softly at the thought of Tobiume.

Their conversation continued. They discussed food, movies and animals. Both of them were secretly pleased at how easy it was to talk to each other.

Toshiro had been driving for ten minutes when a realization hit him. It would have been much more effective if he had just left Momo in his office with paperwork to keep her busy. Why has he brought her along without a second thought?

He knew the answer before he finished asking the question. He had decided to bring her along because he honestly did not want to leave her company. He internally cursed Ichigo for making him admit that a small part of him was fascinated with the young girl. He then cursed himself for having feelings.

"Ah!" He said after another five minutes of internal emotional conflict. "We are here!"

Momo looked to see that they were in a nice suburban neighborhood. The houses looked new and all had great big lawns. They walked up to one house where Toshiro rang the doorbell. This must be his neighbor, she inferenced.

An older looking woman answered the door. "Oh Toshiro! Good you came. And quickly too. Come in, come in." The woman looked to be around seventy and had a soft, plump and pleasant face. She was dressed in a pink nightgown and Momo smiled upon seeing she wore matching fuzzy pink slippers.

"I hope he hasn't been much trouble," Toshiro said.

"Oh no, not at all. He's always a gentleman," the woman said. She then stopped, finally realizing that Toshiro was not alone. "Oh, hello. I don't believe we've met. I'm Mai, Toshiro's neighbor."

"Hello," Momo said with a smile. "I'm Momo."

Mai looked at Toshiro. "You never told me you had a girlfriend! And such a pretty one at that."

At these words, both of them blushed a deep red.

"Oh, no," Toshiro awkwardly corrected. "Momo works with me at the university."

"Really? My apologizes." Mai said. "But for the record, you two look nice together."

Toshiro decided it would be easier to ignore her last comment. "So, Hyorinmaru?"

"Oh, yes, yes," Mai said, remembering why they had come. "He's in the backyard."

They made it to the backyard where a large, beautiful dog was laying underneath a tree, panting in the summer heat. As soon as the dog spotted Toshiro, he bounded over to his owner, tail wagging.

"Did you get out again boy?" Toshiro asked, petting him. "Did you? Did you?"

Momo smiled as she observed Toshiro talk with his dog. In the three weeks she had known him, only talking about his grandmother had evoked this much emotion out of the white haired man.

Toshiro turned to Mai. "I hope he doesn't get out again, but thank you for grabbing him."

"Oh it's no problem," Mai said with a smile. "Here, let me lead you to the back gate."

"Come on boy," Toshiro said to Hyorinmaru. "Time to go home!"


	9. Chapter 9

Toshiro and Momo excited Mai's backyard through the metal gate on the far side of her fence. Momo then followed Toshiro as he headed over to the house directly to the left and unlocked the front door.

"I'm just going to leave him inside," Toshiro said with a sigh as he opened the door. "I'm not coming back for him if he is feeling adventurous."

Momo's first impression of the inside of Toshiro's house was that it was neat and organized, especially when you took into consideration that the lone occupant was a twenty-two year old man. The front living room was simply decorated with a couch, a few recliners and a small coffee table. In the corner was a baby grand piano. Everything was organized and not a cushion was out of place. Momo followed Toshiro into the kitchen to find it just as tidy as the front room. As soon as Toshiro and Momo entered the kitchen, Hyorinmaru bounded up the stairs adjacent to the kitchen, leaving the pair alone.

"And he's probably off to take a nap in my bed," Toshiro said, his eyes following his dog. "How I envy him."

"He seems like a good dog," Momo said.

"He is. The best companion a man can ask for." Toshiro then looked at the clock on the wall of the kitchen. "Damn. It's already lunch time. I have leftover pasta from yesterday."

"Pasta sounds great," Momo said, taking seat at one of the barstools that were next to Toshiro's kitchen island.

Toshiro got out a small container of Tupperware and began to scoop its contents into two bowls he had retrieved from the cabinet. He walked over and put the two bowls in the microwave.

"You'll probably be surprised to know that I actually can cook. Even the sauce is homemade."

Momo had to admit that the cooking exceeded her expectations. "Doesn't it get lonely living in a house all by yourself?" She asked as she ate.

"Eh," Toshiro shrugged. "Just as lonely as living in an apartment by yourself. And Hyorinmaru needs a yard."

"Your house is nice. Very nice."

"Thank you. I will be sure to tell my grandmother you said so. She decorated it for me. I insisted that I didn't need it to be so... Proper, but you can't win against her." Toshiro smiled softly at the thought.

"Well, it still is a lovely home Doctor Hitsugaya."

"Toshiro," he muttered so quickly Momo did not fully catch what he had said.

"Pardon?"

"Call me Toshiro, please." He said, louder this time.

"But Doctor-"

"I know I first told you that I prefer to be addressed as Doctor Hitsugaya, and I do, but honestly now that I know you are older than me, I don't see why we have to be so formal."

"Yes, if you insist Doc- Toshiro."

Toshiro's heart skipped a beat. He loved the way it sounded coming from Momo's lips.

"That's better," Toshiro said. "Have you eaten enough?"

"Yes, thank you."

"We should probably be heading back. This whole excursion ahead already taken up our morning."

"Good thinking," Momo said softly as she followed Toshiro out the door.

* * *

"Before you say anything, I'm sorry Momo. I shouldn't have forced my feelings on you."

Kira and Momo were sitting in their usual lunch spot. It had been a few days since Momo had been permitted to not only work in Toshiro's lab, but to address him by his first name. So far, Momo felt as though she was living up to his expectations. At the very least, she wasn't being a burden. Her new responsibilities at work had put her in such a good mood over the past few days that she had decided it was time to heed Nanao's advice and mend her currently strained relationship with Kira.

"It's okay Kira," Momo said gently. "I just... It's not going to change between us. You are my friend, my closest friend. I adore our friendship, but I'm afraid that's all it will ever be, a friendship."

Kira looked down, a slight expression of sadness cast upon his face. He sighed. "I know that now, Momo. I will come to peace with this fact, eventually. Just give me time alright?"

"Thanks Kira, you're the best," she beamed at him.

"So how's work going?" He asked, desperate to change the subject.

"Better, much better. Toshiro allows me in his lab again. I'm not helping much with his personal research, but at least I feel useful."

"I'm glad things have gotten better between you and the Doctor," Kira said.

He could not help but be jealous. Even when talking about the most mundane topic, as long as it regarded Toshiro Momo's eyes would glow with happiness.

He knew deep down they would never glow for him.

He would just have to find a way to be okay with that.

* * *

"Um, Toshiro, may I request something?" Momo said breaking the comfortable silence in the lab.

Toshiro looked over at Momo's station. "Yes, of course."

"May I have tomorrow off? There's something... Something personal I need to take of." Her voice was steady, giving no sign of the uneasiness within her heart.

"Yes of course," Toshiro said simply. "You haven't missed a day yet. I just hope everything is okay."

"It is," Momo said softly. "There's just somewhere I need to be."

The next day was unnaturally lonely for Toshiro. He had grown accustomed to having Momo in his labs. He spent the day researching in silence and found himself look over to her usual work station more than once to catch a quick glance at her gentle face.

Needless to say, when Momo returned on Thursday morning, Toshiro was ecstatic. He had to remind himself numerous times that he could not allow himself to seem overly excited that she was back.

Because he wasn't. He had only missed her a little.

Lies if there ever were any.

As the morning wore on, Toshiro began to notice that Momo was not as bright and friendly as she normally was. Small bags had formed under eyes, as though she had slept little the night before. She was quiet, keeping to herself instead of trying to engage in small talk throughout the day. These were amazingly small changes, but Toshiro's fascination with Momo was great enough that he had noticed all of her small little quirks and habits, especially when they stopped.

"Um, Momo, you are quieter today. Are you sure you are alright?"

At this question, Momo jumped slightly, not expecting to be asked such a question. "Y-yes, yes I am. I'm just tired. Yesterday was a long day."

"Alright," Toshiro said, not believing what she had to say. "If you need to talk, I'm always here." He meant it. Boy, did he mean it.

"If-if it's alright with you, may I take my lunch break now?" Momo asked quietly.

"Of course," Toshiro said. He reasoned that some food would do good for her. "Just be back in an hour. I have some grading I need you to do."

"Of course," said Momo.

Toshiro watched as Momo gathered her things to place them in her book bag. He noticed that her hands were trembling, just slightly and frowned.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked again, insistance growing in his voice.

"Yes, I'm just hungry," Momo said as she started to rush packing her bag. To Toshiro, it seemed as though she was desperate for some space "I'll see you in an hour!"

She left as quick as she could, leaving her work station an utter mess and Toshiro thoroughly confused.

"What could..." He then saw a few stray pieces of paper on her workplace that Momo had seemed to left as she had rushed to pack her bag for lunch. It wasn't like him to be nosy, but Momo brought out enough parts of him that were uncommon for him to think twice about reading the papers. He walked over to her station and picked them up.

The first was simply a grocery list. The second paper was a utilities bill that had already been marked as paid. It was the third paper that caught Momo's attention.

It was note from an attorney.

Toshiro read the note quickly before his guilt from spying overpowered his curiosity. The letter was short, formal and to the point.

 _Momo Hinamori,_

 _I am writing to inform you of the first official court date regarding the case Aizen Souske v. Karakura University. Your presence is not required, as your testimony is not needed after giving your anonymous statement. I do encourage your attendance. The trial is to begin promptly at noon on Wednesday, June 20th. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me._

 _Regards,_

 _Kisuke Urahara_

Toshiro frowned. The 20th was yesterday. So this was where Momo must have been on her day off. He read the letter again and a new bit of information registered in his brain.

The trial was for Aizen Sosuke, a former colleague of his. He knew Aizen had been removed from the University, but when he pondered the reason, he realized he did not know the answer.

He continued to scan the letter. Urahara. The name was familiar. Then it clicked, Urahara was the head of the Law School at the University. He had met him a few times at various University functions.

That settled it, Toshiro decided. Momo was clearly upset about something and wasn't willing to talk. He would go ask Urahara. He couldn't stand seeing the poor girl worked up like she was. With this decision, he quickly set down the papers, arranged them to look as jumbled as they were before he had read them, and headed to his office to take his daily nap.

A/N: so, Aizen is now in the picture! What horrible things do you think he has been up too? We will find out shortly! The next chapter continues this series tone to help move along the plot, but after that is one chapter of pure hitsuhina fluffiness! Until next time please review! Let me know what you think Aizen has been up too.

Also, I just uploaded the first chapter of another story. It's different, very different, from this one, but is still an IchiRuki and HitsuHina. Hope you'll check that out!


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: hello again! So here is some good old Hitsuhina fluff that everyone wants and loves so much! I just want to say thanks to everyone who likes this story so far. To me, it doesn't matter how many read it, as long as those who do truly love it. Also, if you like this, you may want to check out my new story Of Vices and Virtues. As love stories go, that one will for sure be more intense than this one. It's told from the point of view of Toshiro and is a lot of fun to write. Happy reading and please review!

Toshiro spent the rest of the afternoon feeling guilty for invading Momo's privacy, no matter how concerned he was for her. She came back from a lunch with a little more color in her cheeks, but she continued to stay virtually mute as she carried on her responsibilities at her station. After a while, Toshiro ended up sending her to his office to complete paperwork for his summer class. He figured it would be easier to hide the guilt if she wasn't in the room.

After finishing up his work for the day, he decided that before returning to Momo in his office, he would make a quick trip to Urahara in the College of Law. He had little trouble finding Urahara's office. As the head of the entire program, he had a secretary sitting outside. She was a small grad student with sad eyes and dark black hair.

"Hello, I was wondering if it would be possible to see Professor Urahara. I'm with the college of science," Toshiro said to the woman.

"Did Doctor Kyoraku send you?" The woman asked.

Toshiro figured that his best chance of getting to speak with the lawyer was to play along. "Um, yes he did."

"Oh, go on in," the woman said, beckoning to a door on her left. "He should just be going over files from the case. Don't believe him if he says he's too busy."

Toshiro nodded and opened the door to find himself in a rather grand office, particularly in retrospect to his own. They were on the eighth story of the building and the windows to the office gave spectacular views of the campus. Rows and rows of filing cabinets lines the walls. Grabbing the attention of the room was a rather luxurious oak desk. Toshiro was simply happy that he had his own private office with a door to shut out the world when the public became too annoying.

Sitting at the oak desk, his eyes covered by a stripped hat, was a man with blonde hair. He was scanning a series of highlighted papers while muttering softly to himself.

"Um, hello," Toshiro said gently. He did not know if Urahara was aware that he was not alone in the room.

Without looking up from the papers in his hands, the man replied with a gruff, "I'm too busy right now."

"That's not what your secretary said."

At this, the man put down his papers and looked up at Toshiro. A wicked looking smile was cast upon his face. "She's starting to learn all my tricks."

"What a pain," Toshiro said. He felt the slightest bit intimidated by the man, but was trying not to let it show.

"So what can I do for you Professor Hitsugaya?" At this question, Toshiro's eyebrows raised in surprised that Urahara had, in fact, remembered their brief introduction at a random event long ago. "What? You're surprised I remembered you? How could I forget. It's not every day you meet a young prodigy with snow white hair. In fact, I was expecting you. Now once again, what can I do for you professor?"

"You were expecting me?"

Urahara nodded. "You work closely with Momo Hinamori. I had a feeling sooner or later you would come waltzing with questions and it seems like I was right."

Toshiro sighed. "Yes, Momo works with me in my lab. I've come to ask about the trial concerning Aizen and what it has to do with Momo."

"You're not going to like my answer," Urahara said plainly. "For one, the trial with Aizen cannot be discussed legally."

"Why not?"

"It involved individuals who, at the time of the events, were minors. Legally, to protect their privacy, I can't release any information regarding a case where minors are involved."

"That makes sense." Toshiro nodded. "And how does that relate to Momo?"

"I can't give you specifics. I suggest that if you truly want to know you ask Momo herself."

Toshiro grimaced in frustration. So Urahara couldn't tell him anything. What a waste of his time. "You can't tell me anything at all?"

"Well..." Urahara watched as Toshiro stood there anxiously waiting for attention. "I can tell you this. The particular case I'm working on involves minors that were all young men. Momo is not involved."

"Then how is she involved with Aizen at all?"

"Fine, you can have a brief... fact," Urahara said. "I can't give specifics so this will have to appease you. The Hinamoris have been good friends with Aizen for years. Apparently they are neighbors. Momo has made a statement about his character,the contents of which cannot be revealed. "

"Oh," Toshiro let that information sink in. "She just seemed so stressed today in lab. Do you think it could possibly be because she's worried her friend could be incarcerated?"

"If you want to know the answer to that, you will have to ask Momo yourself," Urahara said. "I can reveal no more without breaking the privacy policy of my firm. Thank you for coming, Doctor Hitsugaya."

At this, Toshiro exited. He was unsatisfied. Urahara had not provided him with enough information regarding the case. At least he knew that Momo had not been personally involved with any of the wrong-doings of Aizen. He was slightly comforted at the thought- but only slightly. She was still clearly emotionally worn from the ordeal. Toshiro would have to make her week improve somehow, he decided. If anything, just to see her beautiful smile.

* * *

"You look better," Toshiro said to Momo ask she walked into lab the next morning.

"Thanks," Momo said. "I managed to sleep a bit more last night."

That was all she said. Usually she greeted him, asked about his night, his dog and his grandmother. Today she simply went straight to work, like she had done the day prior.

Unwilling to want to work in silence another day, Toshiro blurted the first thought that crossed his mind. "Why don't we take today off?"

"Pardon?" Momo turned around to look at Toshiro, clearly confused. She stopped assembling her work station.

"Why don't we take a today off?" Toshiro said, this time more slowly and firmly

"Take it off? As in go home or go complete paperwork?"

"No, I mean take it off and go do something fun. A field trip, if you will."

At these words, Momo's eyes lit up with the excitement Toshiro had missed. "A field trip?"

"Yeah, why not." He wasn't about to take back his word when her reaction was so animated. "What would you like to do?"

"Let's go to the zoo!"

"The zoo?" Toshiro raised an eyebrow at Momo.

Momo shrugged. "I went to the zoo for field trips plenty of times in grade school. Why not now?"

"I haven't been to the zoo in years," Toshiro said. He sighed. "Fine. Put your stuff away and let's go."

Despite the fact that Toshiro felt absolutely ridiculous for suggesting that they take the day of for a "field trip", he could not help but swell with happiness upon seeing Momo's newfound joy. As soon as they sat in the car, Momo began to tell stories of when she used to babysit in high school and how she would always take the children to the zoo on their birthdays. Toshiro listened to the conversation with enthusiasm. Frankly, Momo could be talking about watching paint dry and he would have been interested. Anything was better than the sad silence that had filled the lab the day before.

By the time they reached the gate to pay for their tickets, Momo was practically bouncing with excitement. Toshiro couldn't help but think that this new, childlike wonder in her was very, very cute

"One ticket please," Momo said to the cashier.

"Let me get it," Toshiro supplied.

Momo turned around to face him, a stern look now on her face. "I can pay for myself."

"It was my idea, I'll get it," Toshiro said, pulling out his wallet.

Momo knew she had lost the argument and backed away from the window. After receiving her ticket, she mutter a soft thanks.

"It's no big deal Momo. Save your money."

"I just feel bad," Momo said. "You shouldn't have to pay for me when I suggested the zoo."

"Yes, but I came up with the idea to play hooky in the first place. Now where too?"

Momo's smile instantly returned. "Oh I know!"

They spent the morning going from exhibit to exhibit. Toshiro, who had taken a few animal life sciences class in his past, spent his time giving out random facts for each animal. Momo would just gleam with excitement. After a full morning of animal watching, the two grabbed lunch at one of the small cafes in the facility.

"So," Momo said. "What compelled you to get your doctorate in organic chemistry?"

"I just felt like it called me," Toshiro said as he ate his hamburger. "My undergrad came naturally to me and for the most part so did my masters. But from the first ochem class I took, there was just something about those lines and squares and arrows that just... made sense."

Momo nodded. "I wish I had that. I'm convinced that it's my strong work ethic that has gotten me by."

"I'd take a smart student with a strong work ethic over a lazy genius any day."

"You're not lazy," Momo supplied with a soft smile.

Before Toshiro could answer, his cell phone began to ring. He groaned and pulled it out of his pocket, hoping it wasn't anyone back at the univeristy wondering where he was

It was Ichigo.

"I have to take this," Toshiro said to Momo as he got up to walk outside the small cafe. Once he was outside he answered the call. "Hey Ichigo."

"Toshiro! What's up!"

"Oh, nothing much," he said simply.

"Wait," Ichigo said pausing. "Is that the sound of children in the background? Why are children in your lab?"

"I'm not at the lab right now. I'm at the zoo."

"The zoo? Why the hell are you at the zoo?" Ichigo was clearly confused.

"Momo and I decided this sounded like a much better activity than researching epoxides all day."

"Momo?" Ichigo could not hide the excitement growing in his voice. "That's your grad student, correct? Why didn't you tell me you had a date!"

"It's not a date!" Toshiro insisted.

"Did you pay for her?" Toshiro could almost hear the smirk on Ichigo's face.

"Shut up," he snapped in reply. "And she paid for her own lunch."

"It's a date, I'm counting it," Ichigo said.

"It's not a date! Anyway, why did you call me? Surely it wasn't to interrogate me about my day."

"Oh, yeah. Right, right," Ichigo said. He took a deep breath. "I want to know if you want to come with me to help shop for an engagement ring for Rukia tomorrow."

"Go shopping with you? That's something only girls should do. Besides, she is your girlfriend, not mine."

"Yes but remember that one pair of earrings you helped me pick out for Christmas last year? She wears those more than every other piece of jewelry I've bought for her myself combine."

"Your lack of fashion sense is not my problem," Toshiro said sarcastically. "And it's an engagement ring, Ichigo. She won't care what it looks like."

"Please Toshiro. You know I wouldn't ask if I didn't want you there."

"Fine," Toshiro snapped. "I get off work at 4 tomorrow. I'll meet you at your house after."

"Perfect!" Ichigo did not try to hide the smugness in his voice. "Now I'll let you return back to your date."

"It's not a-" Toshiro stopped. Ichigo had already hung up. Toshiro growled in annoyance, returned his phone back in his pocket and then headed inside to rejoin Momo.

Momo was sitting there quietly at the table eating her salad when Toshiro returned. "You look flustered."

"My friends being an idiot," Toshiro said. "But that's Ichigo."

"Is that the friend you were with at the coffee shop?"

"Yeah, I've known him forever. He's a good guy, just gets on my nerves sometimes."

"Does everyone get on your nerves?" Momo's eyes widened at her boldness. Her conversation with Toshiro was so natural that she had forgotten, for the smallest of moments, that he was still her boss and not her friend.

Toshiro's reaction was not what Momo expected. She had expected him to scowl at her and sharply say he she was wrong, proving her point at the same time. Instead, Toshiro looked at her for a moment, studying Momo's face, before breaking out in a laugh.

Toshiro Hitsugaya was laughing and it wasn't just a small chuckle or slight jeer. He was utterly and truly laughing.

For her part, Momo was sitting there is shock, unsure how to handle Toshiro's outburst.

After a few minutes of joy, Toshiro stopped laughing and with the largest, most genuine smile Momo has seen on plastered on his face, he said, "Is that what you think of me?"

Momo just sat there in silence, absentmindedly turning over a piece of lettuce with her fork. This was a trick question, she reasoned. He must be testing her.

"N-No?" The word came out slower and with less confidence than desired.

By now, Toshiro had calmed down a bit, but a smile remained on his face. "I'm not made of ice, Momo."

"I- I never thought you were?" The sentence came out as a question. "I- I-"

"Its okay Momo," Toshiro said gently. "It was actually rather… refreshing to hear someone finally be honest with me. I'm not mad."

"You're not?" Momo said softly.

"No," Toshiro said as he shook his head. "Besides, if you must know, you never get on my nerves."

At this, both of them blushed a brilliant shade of red and returned to their meals. After a few minutes of silence, Momo finally looked up at Toshiro. "Thanks for doing this."

"Doing what? Eating lunch with you?"

"No, I mean… thank you for suggesting we have a day to just relax. I really have had a few things on my mind and this has made me feel significantly better."

Toshiro smiled at her. "Of course."

What he wanted to tell her was that he would do anything, simply anything, to see her smile.

But of course he couldn't. No matter how much he wanted too.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Being on bed rest may just the single most cruel and unusual punishment I have ever endured. The only good news is all I do all day is read fanfiction, write fanfiction and watch Netflix. So, here's another update. It's a good time to mention that Momo has no memory of her conversation at the bar with Toshiro. I feel like Nanao would be the type of friend to take little bullshit, so that's how I portray her. This is also where the IchiRuki starts becoming a more central part of the story.

"You went to the zoo and you have the audacity to tell me that it wasn't a date?"

Momo had come home later than normal. She and Toshiro had enjoyed themselves the rest of the day at the zoo. Afterwards, they had grabbed a quick dinner before he dropped her off at her apartment. Momo walked into the door to find Nanao at the counter surrounded by notes for her summer class, a smirk on her face as she had observed the professor dropping Momo off moments before.

"No, it wasn't," Momo said.

"You wish it had been."

"Look, Nanao, I told you before, I'm pretty sure he is involved with someone. He has to be. Someone that big of a catch just can't be single."

"But you said he wasn't married and he lived alone," Nanao supplied as she began to make a stack of flashcards. "Which, if I may add, the fact that you have been to his house is enough to raise an eyebrow."

"His dog escaped and he couldn't leave me in the lab alone!"

"Excuses, excuses," Nanao looked up with a soft smile. "Anyway, Momo, if we are being honest, I'm glad to see some color back in your cheeks."

"Thanks," Momo said walking over to where her roommate was studying. "I'm just... I'm just trying to keep myself together."

Nanao had never been one for excessive displays of affection, but she reached out and grabbed Momo's hand, giving it a comforting squeeze. "How about this, tomorrow lets go shopping and get sushi. I would say today, but I have a test in my summer class in the morning."

Momo smiled. "That sounds great. It's been a long week."

* * *

Toshiro picked Ichigo up at exactly 4:30 as planned. He could tell the instant Ichigo sat down in Toshiro's car that he was nervous-excited nervous, but nervous nonetheless.

"So I asked Byakuya if I could marry Rukia," Ichigo said.

"And how did that go?"

Byakuya was Rukia's multimillionaire brother. He was a powerful businessman and had a very close relationship with his sister. Having his support was vital.

"Well, I'm alive," Ichigo said with a nervous chuckle. "Actually, it went better than I expect. Except the first words out of his mouth were that when he first met me, he couldn't stand me and thought that Rukia's time would be better spent on anyone else. Eventually he went on to say that I've grown on him and proven my worth and that he knows Rukia loves me greatly, so he approves. It was terrifying really. I know he was trying to compliment me, but it never came out that way."

"So you do have is approval?"

Ichigo nodded. "Yup. Except he would like us to have a proper, formal wedding. Ugh."

"Well don't jump ahead too far," Toshiro said as he continued to drive. "You haven't asked her and you don't have a ring."

"I will soon," Ichigo said. "And I've already decided how I'm going to ask her."

"Do tell."

"So, I think the one thing that first got Rukia's attention was the fact that I treated her like a normal person, not as an heiress of the Kuchiki household."

Toshiro agreed with this. He had often been out with the two of them and found that as soon as Rukia's last name was mentioned everyone started to treat her differently. Ichigo was one of the few people who, from the beginning, had seen Rukia as a person, not a bank account. Ichigo had never tried to impress her with fancy dates and expensive presents. He had won over the heart of the petite brunette by simply being a man interested in a woman.

"She doesn't like fancy things, she doesn't need them," Ichigo continued. "She's been spoiled her whole life, even without her asking. So I've decided to not do a fancy proposal with flowers or in public. I'm going to make her dinner on Monday and ask then. Just us, probably in our pajamas."

Toshiro smiled. "I think that's perfect. It's sounds like something she would enjoy."

"I thought so too."

By now, the two of them had reached the outdoor mall that had several jewelry stores. They walked into the first one where they immediately helped by a friendly woman with far too much makeup on.

"Do you have a particular cut in mind?" She asked after hearing Ichigo's budget.

"Ummm..."

"You should probably go with oval," Toshiro said beside him.

"Um, let's listen to the man," Ichigo said slyly. "Oval it is."

They spent the next quarter hour going over various styles of rings. When they had narrowed it down to three, Ichigo's phone rang. "I need to take this, it's my dad."

With that, Ichigo stepped outside to take the call.

"It's cute that he would bring you," the saleswoman said with a smile. "It's so common for men to bring their friends who have a more natural... eye."

Toshiro wasn't stupid. He knew immediately what the woman was alluding at. "I'm not his gay best friend."

"Mhmm," the woman said, still smiling her special smile reserved for customers. "It's alright, we are used to that here."

"Okay," Toshiro rolled his eyes and continued to browse up and down the rows of jewelry, eager to get away from the window. After the longest five minutes of his life, Ichigo walked back in.

"I'm getting the middle one, I've decided," he told Toshiro.

"Great choice, now if you don't mind me, I'm going to slip outside before that woman has anymore opportunities to question my sexuality." Toshiro left the store without any further explanation, leaving Ichigo to make his life-changing purchase.

* * *

"That dress was a great decision, you were right," Momo said to Nanao. They had spent the afternoon shopping among the stores in their favorite mall.

"It looks good with your skin tone," Nanao reasoned. "Want to get dinner? I'm starved."

Momo nodded and the two best friends headed off into the direction of their favorite sushi restaurant. Nanao had been correct; retail therapy had been just what she had needed to turn this day around.

They were walking by the various stores, gossiping about every subject under the sun when Momo suddenly stopped.

They had come across a jewelry store. In the window, she could make out a man by himself looking at rings. A man with white hair.

She had to fight not to let the expression show on her face. Internally, her heart was sinking.

"What is it Mo-" Nanao stopped. She too saw Toshiro browsing the rings of the jewelry store.

"I told you he was involved," Momo said softly as she turned her eyes to the ground.

"You alright?" Nanao asked gently.

"Of course I am," Momo said with a forced grin. "I mean, after all, there is nothing going on with Tosh- Doctor Hitsugaya and myself."

She would not admit that the sight of him shopping for engagement rings made her reduce to internal tears.

"Let's go, Momo," Nanao said, grabbing Momo's hand and dragging her away from the jewelry story. "Let's go get sushi, have some sake and enjoy the rest of the night."

Momo smiled softly at Nanao. "Yes, let's."

She may have put on a brave face and a large smile, but inside Momo Hinamori was wilting.


	12. Chapter 12

Monday morning rolled around to find Momo in an irritable mood. She hated feeling like this. She had no right to have thought that Toshiro had been at all interested in her. He worked with her. They worked together. He had been nice to her, but frankly he would have been a straight up asshole if he had been mean to her after she obediently listened to his every instruction. His kindness wasn't a sign that he liked her. It was a sign that he appreciated her contribution to his research.

Besides, at the end of the day Momo could not get the image of him shopping for engagement rings out of her mind.

It didn't help that Toshiro came in on Monday with an unusually cheerful smile.

The source of the smile was Toshiro's anticipation of getting to spend another day with Momo. Now that she had returned to her previously happy self, he was truly beginning to look forward to every day in the lab with her. Especially now that they conversed as friends instead of business associates.

If only he knew that Momo misinterpreted his excitement.

She believed that his happiness was because he had had a good weekend, a very good weekend.

"Morning Momo!" He said with a smile. "How was your weekend?"

"It was alright, Doctor Hitsugaya."

At the use of this name, the grin on Toshiro's face vanished. "I already said call me Toshiro."

"I just..." Momo didn't know how to explain that she would prefer to keep things professional now that he was engaged. It would hurt less. "I just think we should really go back to the proper title."

Toshiro's brows furrowed at her answer. "I don't see why not."

"It just... It just shows more respect if I call you in this way. Please let me, sir," Momo asked. She looked up at her work and over at him for the first time that morning. "Please Doctor?"

He sighed, inwardly confused and saddened by this request. "Sure, I guess." If it was what she wanted, it would be allowed.

The rest of the morning was uncomfortable. It reminded Toshiro of the early days of their partnership when he had simply given Momo a task and walked away. There was no conversation and no laughter between them.

Toshiro reasoned that whatever was going on in her personal life that had caused her to have such a rough week last week must have carried on throughout the weekend. He could not think of any other reason why Momo would be so cold.

The week went on in such a manner. Momo would come and go with little conversation. After a few days, Toshiro stopped questioning the silence. It broke his heart to think that Momo's personal life was so messed up that it would cause her to internally retreat into herself.

At this rate, the only positive thing all week was Ichigo's successful proposal to Rukia. Even then, that took Toshiro's mind off Momo for a mere ten minutes maximum.

To Momo, it broke her heart knowing that Toshiro had someone else. She did not even have the courage to ask about it. His reply would be too much to hear. Truth be told, she had only realized how much she liked the professor after he was no longer an option. Before, Momo had simply thought he was kind, intelligent and good looking. Now that he was never to be hers, Momo realized she had, after all her denials, wanted more.

By the end of the week, Toshiro had almost given up on ever seeing Momo's smile return. He knew that he could not ask just ask her about the issue. She had not wanted to discuss it back when they were on good terms. Now, he thought the question would have her in a frenzy.

Despite being a relative loner, Toshiro had never had problem attracting women. With his sharp intellect, great physique and gorgeous teal eyes, he was by all means a catch. He had dated a bit here and there, but had never truly committed to settling down with one particular woman. Ichigo had spent hours upon hours convincing Toshiro to just try having a semi-serious relationship. Toshiro would always shrug him off and state that it just wasn't in his cards.

Momo Hinamori and her sudden refusal to have any personal relationship, even one of strictly friendship, was perhaps the first problem he had ever had involving a woman. He want more. If he couldn't have her for himself, he at least wanted her as a companion or acquaintance. At this point, they were well on there way to becoming strangers.

* * *

On the first Sunday of every month, Toshiro drove out to the countryside to spend the day with his grandmother. She would cook him a delicious meal of all his favorite foods and always made sure there was a big bowl of watermelon sliced and ready to eat. Watermelon had always been his favorite.

On this Sunday, Toshiro sat at the dining room table picking at his food.

"Toshiro, darling, what's wrong?" His grandmother asked.

"Nothing," Toshiro said, looking up from his untouched plate.

"Don't lie to me boy. I see right through you."

Toshiro sighed. "Momo won't talk to me." He finally said honestly.

"Momo? If I remember correctly, she's your lab assistant."

"Yup. That's her," Toshiro said. The last time he had visited his grandmother, Momo had been working in his lab for only two weeks. Back then, he had been in deep denial that he had any attraction to her at all.

"What did you do?" His grandmother asked rather accusingly.

"Nothing! I did nothing!" Toshiro said. "It's the truth."

"Then why won't she talk to you?"

"Hell if I know. I know she has things going on in her personal life. I haven't asked about them and she hadn't given me any more detail. I just don't see why we went from getting along so well to barely talking."

"How well were you getting along?" His grandmother asked, unable to hide the curiosity- and implications- in her voice.

"No like that!" He said defensively. "We were just friends. But good friends."

"You want it to be like that, don't try to lie to me Toshiro."

"I wasn't planning on it," Toshiro looked at his grandmother. "How do you get a woman to know that no matter what problems she's facing, she can count on you?"

"You be there for her. You don't push her to tell you something if she doesn't want too."

"I already am." Toshiro looked down in defeat.

"Then maybe it's time you tell her what you feel," his grandmother suggested.

"But she works with me!"

"Please, Toshiro this would not be the first relationship ever among the staff of that university."

"I know grandmother," he said. He paused for a few moments before finding the courage to mutter a few words. "I like her. I don't think I've ever felt like this towards something."

"I've never seen you blush so much when talking about someone," his grandmother said with a smile. "If she's worth it, fight for it."

"She's worth it," Toshiro said. His voice was definite and had little doubt. "Thank you grandmother."

"That's why I'm here Toshiro," she said. "Now eat. I didn't cook all morning for you to pick at your meal."

The two spent the rest of the day watching a movie. After their pep talk, Toshiro felt a new confidence in his situation towards Momo. His grandmother was right. If he wanted Momo he would have to do something about it. She was obviously not in a mental state to take such matters in her own hands. He would have to do so.

He bid his grandmother goodnight as the sun was beginning to set. When he arrived home, his spirits had been restored. Tomorrow he was going to demand she call him Toshiro and they go back to how they were. Perhaps, they would go to be more.

He was fast asleep when the phone rang and the voice on the other end of the line gave him news that made the world stop spinning.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: So I just want to say thank you to everyone who has been reading this! This is easily the juiciest chapter yet and is my personal favorite. For the fair amount of people who have DM'd me, I plan on responding in the next day or two. Just want to thank you guys for still reading as well as for those who have been reviewing. I've noticed that the more reviews this gets, the more views the story has and that makes me smile and want to continue writing. The only reason I update so regularly is because of you guys so please let me know what you think! This chapter is long so there must be something you'd like to comment or leave your thoughts on. :)

It had been over a week since Momo had spied Toshiro in the jewelry store. She had kept her distance to avoid getting too close, for fear of doing something rash.

She didn't like it, but she reasoned it was for the best.

The next Monday started off rough for the young girl. She had overslept by an hour and only woke once Kira had come knocking on her front door to walk with her school. In a rush to get dressed, she spilled her morning coffee on her first outfit, setting her back another five minutes to change. In the hurry, she forgot her lunch.

So imagine her surprise when Momo Hinamori came bolting into the hallway of Toshiro's lab to find the door locked.

This is strange, she thought. Had Toshiro told her not to meet at the laboratory? She couldn't remember and decided to go check his office.

A frown crossed her face when she reached the door and discovered it locked as well. She pulled out her phone and sent him a text asking if he had a meeting she had forgotten about. After all, she was over half an hour late. Toshiro had been early every day since she had started working with him.

Two missed calls and ten minutes later, Momo was being to grow worried. She picked up her phone to make a different call.

"Hello?" Nanao's voice called out.

"Nanao, I have a favor to ask."

"What is it Momo?"

"Can I borrow your car? It won't be for long."

"Sure, sure," Nanao said. "I'm about to go into lecture but I'll wait outside the building. You don't need to rush, class doesn't start for ten minutes."

"Oh thank you!" Momo said. "I'll be right there. I'll have your car back quickly as well."

"I'm going straight to the library after for a study session," Nanao said. "Just bring it back before it's time for me to go home for dinner."

Once Momo had collected Nanao's keys, she set off for her destination. Her mind kept making lists and lists of reasons why Toshiro had not come to work. Each reason was worst than the last.

She pulled up to his house to find his car in his driveway. Sprinting to the front door, she rang the doorbell, slightly shaking from the anxiety.

There was no answer. After two minutes she rang the bell again.

On the fourth ring, the door handle turned.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?"

Momo looked in fear as Toshiro angrily yelled at his visitor. He was a mess. His eyes were bloodshot, his hair was all over the place and his clothes were wrinkled. His face was pale and hollow. The light in his eyes were gone. It seemed as though he had not slept in ages. He was ghost of a man.

"T-Toshiro?" Momo barely managed the whisper.

At her voice, he finally registered who was at his front door. "Go away Momo."

Before he had a chance to slam the door in her face, Momo stuck out her foot, preventing the door from closing shut. There was no way she was going to permit him to stay alone in this state. Something was seriously wrong and she was going to make sure he was alright.

"I'm not going anywhere," she muttered as she pushed the door open and forced her way into the house. By now, Toshiro had abandoned his temporary outburst and stood there numb, allowing Momo to overpower him and walk inside.

"What's wrong Toshiro? Are you sick? Are you hurt? Tell me. Maybe I can help?"

"No one can help me," he said as his beautiful teal eyes began to tear up. "Please Momo, I don't want anyone to see me like this."

"If you think I care, you're crazy. I don't care if you cry. Just tell me what's wrong."

Toshiro collapsed to his knees, his body trembling. "She's- she's..." He couldn't muster the words.

"You need to tell me so I can help you," Momo said as she knelt down to Toshiro's level.

"SHE'S DEAD," Toshiro finally roared as his inner emotions poured out. The tears began to flow freely from his eyes. "Grandma is dead." This sentence came out as a mere whisper.

Upon saying these words, Toshiro began to cry, no longer caring that his young grad student was watching. Momo, unable to stand his tears, wrapped her arms around him, holding him close. She continued to hold him in her arms as he cried, screamed, and cursed the world. She never said a word and she never let go. The more pain Toshiro exposed, the harder he held onto Momo and the harder she held on back.

After Toshiro's outburst had died down a little, Momo looked at his pale face and reached a gentle hand to wipe the tears away from his eyes. "I'm sorry, Toshiro."

"It's... I just... I..." He could not form a coherent sentence. His mind was too jumbled with pain.

"Come," She said. She stood up and reached down to help him off the floor. "Come with me."

She lead him up the stairs. After looking around, she found his room and walked in.

Toshiro's room was as simple and clean as the rest of the house. He had a large bed, a nightstand, a dresser and a table with a television. The room was decorated in white with various teal and turquoise accents.

Momo had him sit on the bed. He looked so emotionally and physically spent that she did not want him to collapse on the floor again. Running her hands through his hair, she looked at him and sweetly said, "I'm going to go make some tea. I'll be right back."

Toshiro nodded but did not speak.

Momo returned shortly with a teapot and two cups. She poured Toshiro his tea. "Cream or sugar?"

He pointed to the sugar. He was avoiding talking at all cost, for fear that any use of his voice would bring a fresh onslaught of tears.

They drank the tea in silence. Momo sat directly next to Toshiro and would constantly reach out to comfort him. She would caress his cheek with her hands, squeeze his shoulders with her arms or grab his hand and hold it close.

After some time, Toshiro had collected his composure enough to speak. "I'm sorry you had to see me like that."

"Don't be," Momo said. The genuine concern could not be missed in her voice. "Something horrible happened. You loved her. You are allowed to be as upset as you want."

"I saw her yesterday too," Toshiro said, looking down into the bottom of his empty tea cup. "Kissed her goodbye and told her I would see her the next time we made lunch plans."

"I'm so sorry Toshiro," Momo said, once again enveloping him in her arms.

"You don't have to apologize. If anything, I need to be apologizing to you for feeling like you have to take care of me."

"Don't say that," Momo said. She still had Toshiro in her arms and did not want to let go. "I'm not here because I feel like I have too, I'm here because I want too."

Toshiro nodded and, for the first time since her arrival, lifted his arms to hug Momo back. "I need to focus on the good side of things. She died in her sleep. There was no pain."

He then moved to lay down in his bed. He looked at Momo. "Do you have to leave soon?"

She shook her head. "Let me make a few calls. I have Nanao's car, but I'm sure if I explain things Shuhei will be more than willing to give her a ride home."

Toshiro nodded and watched as Momo left the room. Under any other situation, he would have been ecstatic that Momo had been so concerned about him that she would drive all the way to the suburbs to check on him. In this situation, Toshiro's heart was numb. He was, however, thankful for her presence. The last thing he wanted was to be alone.

Momo returned with another pot of tea. After serving him another cup, she got up and joined him in his bed. Pulling the blanket over them, she wrapped her arms around him, letting his head rest on her shoulder.

This seemed so natural to her. So... right... for them to lay like this.

Toshiro lay there silently in Momo's arms as she ran her fingers through his hair. Neither of them spoke. They stayed there, wrapped up together, until they both fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

Toshiro woke up to find that he was not alone in his bed. He quickly turned on the lamp sitting at his nightstand and looked over to find Momo curled up in a ball. Her eyes were shut and her mouth was half open as she remained in a distant dream. The sight caused Toshiro to smile, his first all day. She looked so peaceful.

He decided not to wake her. She had spent the majority of the day taking care of him. The least he could do was allow her to rest.

Toshiro quietly got out of bed and headed to the shower, not bothering to look into the mirror. He could only imagine the disheveled state he was in.

The hot water did wonders to the aches and pains that had come over his body. Though none of the sadness had left him, he finally felt as though he could hold back from the overwhelming attacks of grief that had occurred the day before.

It was then that the true nature of the current situation dawned on him.

Momo Hinamori, the young grad student assigned to work in his lab, had been so concerned about him that she had dropped everything to do nothing but hold him all day.

If he wasn't in deep, deep mourning he would have been head over heels at the thought.

He continued to get dressed as quietly as possible. He dried off and found a pair of boxers and Nike shorts. It was then that he began to hear Momo stir.

When Momo came too, she panicked for a moment before remembering that she had been in Toshiro's house. She looked around and found that she was curled up in his sheets and he was nowhere to be found.

"Shiro?" She called out cautiously.

"Over here."

Momo turned to see him standing in the doorway, fresh from a shower. He looked slightly better. The smallest tint of color had returned to his cheeks and his hair was no longer a wild mane of white locks, but his improved appearance was not what caught Momo's eye.

In the six weeks she had known him, Momo had never seen Toshiro in anything other than his usual polo and slacks. Now he was standing in the doorway in nothing but a pair of workout shorts.

She swallowed as her mind was unable to handle the scene.

She knew Toshiro worked out. That much was obvious. He was not fat and his arms had always looked well-toned in his polo shirts.

She was not, however, prepared for him to be fully ripped.

Toshiro's abs, stomach, and arms were all exceptionally well sculpted. He was built, but just enough that he wasn't overly muscular. There was no denying it, Toshiro was good looking as hell.

"What- what time is it?" Momo managed to squeak out.

Toshiro looked over at a small clock on his nightstand. "Eleven."

"Eleven at night!" Momo said, jumping out of bed. "Oh my god. We slept all day!"

"I needed it," Toshiro said softly. "I had been up all night with..." His voice trailed off, reminding Momo of the reason she was still here.

"Would you like me to make you dinner? Or more tea?" She said, reminding herself that he needed her help right now.

"I have leftovers," Toshiro said. "If you have to leave, feel free."

Momo bite her lip. In truth, she didn't want to leave, but she still had Nanao's car and it was almost midnight. "I should probably be going," Momo said. "But not until I see you eat a little something."

"Deal," Toshiro said as he followed Momo out of his bedroom and down the stairs.

They heated up leftover Chinese takeout that Toshiro had in his fridge and sat down on his dining room table facing each other.

After a few bites of her meal, Momo finally decided to say what was on her mind.

"I'm sorry if my taking a nap here gets you in trouble," she said softly.

"In trouble?" By now Toshiro was thoroughly confused. "In trouble with who?"

"With your fiancé," Momo said, color rising in her cheeks.

"My what?!"

"Your-"

"No," he said, interrupting her. "I know what you said. Where the hell did you hear that I was getting married?"

"I- I um, saw you in a jewelry store a week ago. You were shopping for engagement rings."

"What?" Then he remembered. "Oh, no Momo. I wasn't shopping for anything! I was with my friend Ichigo helping him pick out a ring for his girl!"

Now it was Momo's turn to be confused. "You mean you're not engaged?"

"Hell no," he said with more enthusiasm than necessary. "I'm not even seeing someone! I thought I told you this!"

"Um, I'm pretty sure it never came up in conversation," said Momo.

That's when it hit him, Momo had been so drunk that night at Gentle Ben's that she did not remember him telling her that he was currently very, very much available.

"Oh that's right," he muttered. "We had this conversation at the bar on your birthday. You must not remember."

"I don't even remember seeing you at the bar."

"Well, allow me to clarify it once and for all. I am not engaged. I do not have a girlfriend. Hell, I can't even remember the last time I went on a date."

Momo let out a sigh of relief. "And to think, I've been avoiding you because I was scared of getting too close to someone who was engaged."

She hadn't of meant to say it, but once it came out, she was didn't regret it.

"That's why you haven't been friendly!" Toshiro exclaimed. "You thought I was getting married so you decided I needed space?"

Momo nodded. Her heart was racing too fast to reply.

"Why on earth did you do that?"

"Umm." Momo took a deep breath. She knew that the best option she had right now would be to tell the truth. "Um, I just. I was afraid."

"Afraid of what?" Toshiro's voice was quiet with sheer anticipation for her answer.

"I was afraid I would do something rash," she answers honestly.

"Rash?"

"Yeah, what if I had followed my emotions and done something stupid just because I have feelings for-" Momo caught herself before have finished the sentence, but it was too late. Toshiro got up from his seat and walked over to her side of the table.

He crouched down to be eye level with Momo in her seat. "You have feelings for me?"

Momo swallowed and nodded. "I'm, um, sorry if that makes you uncom-"

Momo did not get to finish her sentence. The next thing she knew, Toshiro placed a hand behind her neck and pulled her in for a kiss, taking her breath away.

The kiss was gentle and delicate. It was not hungry or needy. He didn't want it to be. Right now, after having Momo comfort him for hours upstairs, all he wanted was to show her, in the most caring way possible, was that he was crazy about her.

After they separated, Momo was gasping for air, her eyes wide. She slowly moved a hand up to her lips, touching them as though to ensure the kiss had been real.

"What- what?" She finally said through deep, heavy breaths.

"Momo," Toshiro said as he moved his hand from the back of her neck to caress her cheek. "Momo, I am not involved with anyone. There's only one person I have wanted all summer. And that's you."

He leaned in and captured her lips again. Their lips moved in sync with each other, as though this was the way they were meant to be. Toshiro parted his lips slightly, taking her bottom lip between his own and biting down on it. This elicited a moan from Momo that made him pull her closer. As the next moan sounded from her, Toshiro took the opportunity to work his tongue into her mouth, eagerly meeting her own. He soon left her mouth and began to kiss his way down get neck. Her skin was soft, baby soft, and he eagerly ran his lips down, grazing his teeth against her smooth flesh before sprinkling it with light, airy kisses. As he reached her collarbone, Momo's entire body shivered.

He would have kept going, but a few seconds after Toshiro's mouth had made contact with the warm, exposed skin of her shoulder, Momo's phone began to vibrate from a few text messages.

"That," she said, still panting from the kiss. "That must be Nanao. She must be wondering where I am." Momo pulled open her phone as Toshiro stood up and returned to his seat, still thoroughly dazed from his actions.

"It was," Momo said. "I-I need to go."

"Of course." Toshiro nodded. "Let me walk you out."

The two of them headed to the front door. Before she had a chance to leave, Toshiro placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Momo, I just want you to know I won't be at work for the rest of the week. I need to know you will be okay with covering some of my work."

She nodded. "What would you like me to do?

"I need you to proctor a test in Wednesday for my summer class. It's their final and they have the rest of the week off so you don't need to worry about their other lectures. I'll send out an email letting them know where I am and that if they need help with any material, Professor Ukitake is more than knowledgeable."

Momo nodded. It seemed so... strange discussing something as trivial as work with the man who, only a few minutes ago, had been kissing her senseless. "I can do that."

"Other than that, take a break. I'll see you Monday."

Monday. That was a week away, far longer than Momo wanted to wait to see him again. Despite this, she knew that pushing her presence on Toshiro as he dealt with the loss of his grandmother was not the correct thing to do.

"I have one last thing to ask of you, Momo."

She looked up eagerly. "Yes?"

"Will... Do you... Do you want to accompany me to Ichigo's engagement party on Saturday? It's a rather formal affair and it would be impolite for me to show up without a date."

Of all the smiles Toshiro had seen from Momo, none looked more beautiful than the one she was giving him now. "Of course, I would love too."

He smiled back, relieved in her answer. "I'll let you go now," he said. "You do need to get home." He leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on Momo's forehead. "Oh, and thank you for being there for me today."

Momo nodded, a newfound gleam sparkled in her eye. "Anytime, Toshiro."

A/N: okay, so that was a lot in one chapter, but I felt like separating it would have made it awkwardly short. I always notice that in other fanfictions, it is always the girls who have something happen to them and they need the support of the man. I decided to mix that up. To me, Toshiro would only cry for the two women he loves: his grandmother and Momo. I decided to show this side because, after all, he's not as icy hearted as he acts. A review would make my day!


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Have you ever thought how strange it is how some characters can be called by either their first or last name and some can't? Like how Toshiro could be either and so could Momo, but you would never call Ukitake Jushiro and Kira will always be Kira? Random observation of the day. Please leave a review and let me know what you think. The next chapter after this is rather adorable, if I may say so myself. I'm in the process of editing it and it makes me smile.

Momo's plan was to sneak into the apartment as quietly as physically possible and hurry on to bed before she had a chance to wake Nanao. She did not feel like discussing the events of the day. Too much had gone on.

Her dreams were shattered when she unlocked the apartment door to find Nanao at the kitchen table, surrounded by notes and textbooks. Upon seeing her roommate walk in, Nanao looked up from her studying and smiled.

"What are you doing up?" Momo asked.

"Studying. Summer finals are this week," Nanao answered obviously. "The real question is, why are you just getting home?"

At this, the smallest blush crossed Momo's cheeks. "I was taking care of Toshiro."

"Taking care, alright," Nanao said as she cocked an eyebrow. "Did you sleep with him?"

"What! No! His grandmother just died Nanao!"

Nanao shrugged. "Sex is actually a rather common way people cope with grief."

"Well, even so, we didn't!" Momo said. She could feel her face growing hot from the inner turmoil of emotions. "I told you! I was taking care of him."

"For eleven hours?"

"Look. All I did was make him tea and provide him with company. I don't think he wanted to be alone. I was only there for a long time because we fell asleep."

"Oh, so you were cuddling with your professor. Whom, by the way, you saw shopping for engagement rings a week ago. You're in hot water."

"He's not engaged," Momo muttered. "He was with his friend, the redhead from the coffee shop, helping him pick out a ring."

At this, Nanao smile. "That's a relief. When I saw him at that jewelry story I was utterly confused considering he had seemed so...into you."

Momo did not answer this. In fact, Momo could not even look Nanao in the eyes. She knew by now the blush in her cheeks must be overwhelmingly red.

"What it is? What happened?" There was no getting away with anything in front of Nanao.

"He kissed me," Momo said, so quietly that if Nanao had not been focusing solely on the conversation she would not have heard Momo's confession.

"Just kiss?"

Momo nodded and she looked at the ground to avoid eye contact.

"And?" Nanao asked.

"It was... nice," Momo said with a smile at the thought.

Nice was an understand. It had taken her breath away and left her wanting more. The entire car ride home had been consumed with Momo's mind replaying the second, more heated kiss over and over again, the feel of his lips still vivid in her memory.

"These two word answers will not suffice," Nanao said sternly. "Sit. Tell me."

Momo sighed and walked over to join Nanao at the chairs by their counter.

"What do you want to know?"

"Did he just suddenly kiss you? Did you kiss him? What happens next? Will you see him again?"

Leave it to Nanao to be thorough.

"Um, well I asked about his finance and when he told me didn't have one it just... kind of...yeah. And I don't know what happens next. He won't be at school all week because of what's happened. But..." Momo stopped and bite her lip, a shy smile on her face. "He did ask if I would accompany him to an engagement party for his friends."

At this, Nanao simply smiled. "Good."

"That's it?" Momo said. "I tell you what could possibly be one of the most interesting things to happen in my life in years and all you say his good?"

"You know I'm not one for sentiment," Nanao said. "Besides, I've been expecting this to happen since your birthday. Now I've got to get back to studying and you need to go to bed."

That night, Momo lay in bed staring up at her ceiling. She knew sleep would evade her as her mind continued to replay the night like a movie on repeat.

* * *

As suggested, Momo took the next day off. She did not get out of bed until late. It had been well past four in the morning when she had finally fallen asleep. By the time she showered and got out of bed, Momo realized that she had slept well past breakfast. Nanao was already gone to the library, determined to put in another productive day of studying for her approaching final.

Momo spent the rest of her day lazily. She curled up on the couch, still in her sleep shirt, watching movies with her Tobiume purring at her side.

It was late afternoon when there was a knock on the door. Momo answered it to find it was Kira fresh off of work.

"Hi Kira," she said with a smile. "Why don't you come in?"

"Sure," he followed Momo into her apartment and sat down at the counter. "How was your day off?"

"Relaxing," Momo said. "I haven't left the couch since lunch."

"Good, you deserve a break," Kira said. He reached into the pocket of his pants and pulled out an envelope. "Here's the letter I told you about. It's from Urahara with information on the next court date."

Momo's smile wavered for the smallest of seconds, but not before Kira saw.

"I can go with you if you'd like some moral support," he offered.

Momo shook her head. "I'll be fine by myself. The last trials wasn't so bad to watch."

"If you say so," Kira said bitterly. "I still don't think any of this is a good idea."

"Well, I'm not asking you." Momo's voice had an uncharacteristic snap in it. "Look, he's not that bad a guy. I know you don't agree, but at least let me do what I want in peace. I've had a hell of a week and it's only Tuesday. Yesterday, Toshiro's grandmother died and taking care of him was quite tiresome."

The last statement was so unexpected that Kira completely forgot about Momo's temporary burst of anger towards him. "You were with him?" He tried to make his voice sound curious, not jealous.

"He didn't show up for work yesterday. I was worried and when I was at his house... I just couldn't leave him alone."

"Why don't you just let his fiancé take care of him?" Kira asked. "Didn't you say you had seen him shopping for rings a few days back?"

"We did, but he was with a friend. He doesn't have a fiancé! He's very much single," Momo said as she giggled in the most girlish way. "Very, very much so."

Kira raised an eyebrow at his friend but did not say anything, choosing instead to study her reactions.

"So," Momo continued. "There's no harm in it!"

"I'm glad," Kira said dryly. Part of him wanted to ask her what had gone on at the Hitsugaya household. Part of him didn't think he could stomach the truth. So instead he said, "By the way, what are you doing Saturday? Shuhei and I were thinking of movie hopping."

"I can't," Momo said immediately. She then realized how eager she sounded and took a breath to slow down. "I- I made plans. With Toshiro."

"As in a date?" He was right. He wasn't going to be able to stomach this.

"Maybe? I don't know? Ugh! I'm so confused. I can't stop thinking about that kiss!" The words came out before she could stop them. In the past, Momo had tried to avoid talking about her personal life with Kira, knowing full well that he harbored feelings for her. Today, however, she figured that he had been digging for this information, so if she said anything that bothered him, it wasn't her fault.

"I see..." Kira voice faded a bit. "But, if it makes you happy, then I'll be happy for you."

This was not the reaction Momo had expected. She was waiting for a lecture on how kissing a professor was unprofessional, erratic and deeply frowned upon. She assumed Kira would find a list of reasons on why entertaining her desires would cause irreparable damage to her future academic career. Instead, he had... supported her. Perhaps, the other day at the coffee shop, he had meant in earnest that he understood Momo would never return his affections and it was time to move on.

"Um, thank you Kira."

"But," Kira said quietly. "If he hurts you, I'll hurt him."

Momo did not respond. Considering her track record, she had no right too.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: so thank you to everyone who keeps reading and putting up with my stories! this chapter may be the fluffiest so far and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! It's long.

The week passed very slowly for Momo. She could not be in Toshiro's lab without this supervision, so she spent her time focusing on making sure his summer class ended well. She proctored the exam, graded the test and sent him the final results.

On his part, Toshiro kept busy with preparations for his grandmother's funeral. It was a small service, with only close family and friends in attendance, but it was beautiful nonetheless. She was buried on Thursday morning. The summer sun was shining down. It was a beautiful day and Toshiro tried to stay focused on such positives.

By Friday evening, he had begun to feel slightly less... broken. He knew that the her loss would take months for him to fully accept, but he was finally at the point where he understood that she had peacefully passed on to life's next great journey. Ichigo helped as well. Ichigo visited everyday with another meal his younger sister, Yuzu, had prepared for Toshiro. Toshiro was grateful for being so lucky to have such a great friend.

"Hey," Ichigo called out on Friday. He had come by to drop off a large lasagna. "I've brought food."

"I'm in the kitchen!" Toshiro said. He was sitting at the kitchen table, his laptop open in front of him. "Final grades for my summer class are due tonight at midnight. Momo just emailed the results so I'm just finalizing a few things."

"You look better," Ichigo said. He meant it.

Toshiro shrugged. "She wouldn't want me to sulk. So I don't intend too."

"Good attitude," Ichigo said. "So, I know it's been a rough week and I'll respect you if you say no, but do you have plans to come to the engagement party?"

"Of course."

"I'm serious Toshiro. If you need the time, take the time. Rukia and I understand."

"No, I'll... I'll be there," Toshiro said as a rare smile crossed his lips. "I... I actually asked Momo if she would come with me."

With all the emotion of the week, Toshiro had forgot to mention to the events of Monday.

"Momo? So she's finally stopped being cold to you?" Ichigo asked with a grin.

"Turns out she saw me helping you shop for rings and assumed that I was the one getting married."

"And?" Ichigo said with a smirk. "She's going as your date date right. Not just your date?"

"I... I think so," Toshiro said. "Yes? Yes. I think it would count." He continued to retell the events on Monday. As his story progressed, Ichigo's smirk slowly transformed into a full, ear to ear smile.

"Good," said Ichigo when the story was finished.

"Good?"

"You need to get laid," Ichigo said flatly.

"That's NOT why I like Momo," Toshiro said defensively.

"But you can't tell me it's not something you would thoroughly enjoy," he said with extra emphasis.

"Did you come to bring me dinner or make fun of me about my personal life?"

"It appears both," Ichigo said before looking over at the clock. "I need to go. Rukia and I have to finish going over everything for tomorrow. I swear, if it wasn't for Byakuya we would elope. But no, he insists that we go all out. For everything. It's exhausting, but at least he's paying for it."

"Well, no matter what, I'll be there," Toshiro said as Ichigo got up to leave.

* * *

"Who has an engagement party this formal?" Nanao asked. She sitting on Momo's bed keeping her company as Momo finished getting dressed.

"Apparently his friend is marrying a Kuchiki."

"A Kuchiki? As in the millionaire business family?" Nanao said, eyes wide. "Damn. But that would explain the formal attire."

Momo nodded and moved to take one last look in the mirror. "What do you think?"

Momo turned around to face Nanao. She was in a red, form fitting dress with a sweetheart neckline. The dress was more modest, intended for occasions such as this rather than the clubs, and fell a few inches above her knee. She had on classic black heels and had chosen to wear drop pearl earrings and a classic pearl necklace. She had taken her hair out of her usual bun and it flow freely down her shoulders.

"You look hot," Nanao said. "I like that dress. Not too shabby, not too slutty."

"Thanks," she smiled.

"Nervous?"

"A little," Momo said honestly. "I just... I don't know. I can't describe how I'm feeling."

Before Nanao had a chance to answer, the doorbell rang. "That would be him," she said to her blushing roommate.

Nanao went to go and get the door, leaving Momo to quickly go over herself in the mirror once more. After deciding that she was as good as she was going to get, Momo walked out into the living to room to find Toshiro standings awkwardly at the door in a dress pants and a classic white button down shirt.

Upon seeing Momo, Toshiro's eye grew wide as he tried not to allow himself to have too visible as reaction. She was beautiful.

What satisfied Toshiro the most was that tonight she had dressed up for him.

"You look... great," he said simply.

"Thanks," Momo said shyly. "You look great yourself."

"Ready?" Toshiro asked, not taking his eyes off Momo.

"Let me just get me keys."

The sexual tension in the car was unavoidable. Toshiro focused intently on the road, knowing that one look at Momo would turn into a stare. On her part, Momo sat in shock that the she was even on a date with Toshiro.

"I must warn you," Toshiro said. They had been comfortably listening to music for the majority of the ride and at the sound of his voice, Momo snapped back into focus. "The Kuchiki's are a bit... uptight."

"I figuredbwith how formal this event is and all. Is your friend a Kuchiki?"

"No, his fiancé is," Toshiro answered. It felt so weird to say that. Ichigo was getting married. "She's in law school."

"And your friend?" Momo asked as the comfortable cadence of conversation returned.

"He's in medical school. He graduates next year and then he starts his residency."

"So you'll both be doctors," Momo said with a smile.

"Different kinds. You wouldn't want to go to me for any sort of medical help."

"But you're brilliant."

At this compliment, Toshiro's face turned bright red. "I wouldn't say brilliant."

"I would," Momo said. She then looked out on the road to see they were pulling into their destination. What lay before caused her to swallow the lump that had suddenly developed in her throat.

They had pulled into the driveway of the largest house Momo had ever seen. It stood a proud three stories tall, with a large staircase leading up to grand oak double doors. Four white pillars lined the porch, giving the building a sense of monstrosity. In the middle of the driveway was a large fountain. Cherry trees lined the road, each perfectly manicured.

"I can see what you mean," Momo whispered as she tried to take in the sight.

Toshiro stopped right in front of the house. Immediately, two men in suits came to open their doors. Toshiro handed one of the valet the keys to the car and proceeded to join Momo by her side. He looked at her face as she tried to absorb the grandness that was the Kuchiki residence. Taking a deep breath, he moved boldly and grabbed her hand, interlacing her delicate fingers with his own. His stomach dropped when he realized how warm and soft her palms truly were.

As soon as he took her hand, Momo looked over at Toshiro to give him a soft smile. He felt her gently squeeze his hand, as though to ensure he would not let go.

He had no intention to. Not any time soon.

They continued up the staircase to the front door. By now, more people had arrived and were making the journey to the entrance of the household. When the reached the front, a butler opened the door and ushered them inside.

They were lead to the estates' ballroom. As soon as they entered the room, Momo let out a gasp.

When she would retell the story to Nanao, Momo would describe the ballroom to be one out of the movies. One wall was lined in glass, with multiple glass doors leading out to a patio so that guest may enjoy the warm summer night air. The adjacent wall was decorated with beautiful works of art and at the center was a large, unlit fireplace to provide heat in the winter. Tables covered in silk cloth were spread around the far side of the room. Closer to Momo and Toshiro were the tables with food as well as a fully equipped bar with three bartenders working tirelessly to keep the large guest count pleased.

"There they are!" A voice called out.

The pair looked over to see Ichigo, dressed in a smart looking black suit, heading over to greet them. On Ichigo's arm was a beautiful, petite woman with wide set lavender eyes. She was dressed in a stunning white gown.

"Toshiro!" Ichigo said with a smile. "There you are! I was beginning to think the best man would never come."

"Oh, quiet," Toshiro grumbled. "We are nowhere near late."

"Now don't be rude Toshiro, introduce us to your girl," Rukia said with a soft smile.

At the use of the phrase "your girl", Toshiro blushed for the countless time that evening. "Um, Ichigo, Rukia, this is Momo. She works in my lab. Momo, this is Ichigo and his beautiful bride to be."

"Please to properly meet you," Ichigo said, shaking Momo's hand.

"Likewise," she muttered.

"Toshiro," Rukia said after introductions had ended. "How come you never told us how beautiful a girl she was."

"He told me," Ichigo said bluntly, ignoring the deepening blushes of the other two. "But, from what I can tell, this-" he gestured to Momo and Toshiro- "is a recent development."

"Well, help yourself," Rukia said. "Especially you, Momo. Make yourself at home. Try the wine, it's to die for. My brother insisted we have this party, so I insist you milk it for all its work."

"Thank you for the hospitality," Momo said gently. "And your home is beautiful."

Before Rukia could answer, Ichigo had spotted another guest and had led her away to go greet them. Momo then turned to Toshiro.

"I think after that, wine would be great."

Toshiro could not agree more. Still holding her hand, he lead them over to the bar where they were each served a glass of red wine.

"You didn't tell me you were best man," Momo said after a few sips. The wine was exquisite, but she had expected it to be.

"Yeah, well, it's no big deal," Toshiro said.

"Still," Momo smiled at him. "It's cute."

They moved to a table to sit down and spent the next half hour watching as guest arrived. Ichigo and Rukia stayed busy welcoming each new guest. Momo watched with happiness as Rukia would greet each guest, then proudly show off the elegant diamond on her finger.

"She a keeper," Toshiro said to Momo. He could tell that she was observing the young couple from across the room. "Ichigo was quite the ladies man in college, so I was more than pleased when he managed to snag Rukia."

"I thought you didn't have friends in college?"

"Not during my undergrad," Toshiro said. "I met Ichigo when he was studying for his. I was already working on my doctorate. He's a few years older than me."

"Ah."

Toshiro did not answer her. He was enjoying watching the subtle changes in her expression as she observed the lavish party. Momo was too absorbed in people-watching to realize that Toshiro had been keenly staring at her. The longer he looked at her, the more he realized that his initial survey of her beauty had not done her near enough justice.

Her lips were full and round. The lipgloss she had applied made them appear overwhelmingly kissable and it took all Toshiro's willpower to not lean over and take her bottom lip between his own. Now that he had gotten a taste of their sweet, succulent flavor, he desired more. Instead, he let his eyes wander to her naturally red cheeks that, when she smiled, were so full they would cause the ends of her eyes to wrinkle in the most adorable way. And her neck... oh her neck. The white, exposed skin of her neck looked so smooth and inviting. Toshiro imagined kissing, sucking, biting his way down her from her ear to her collarbone as she moaned in his name.

The mere thought almost undid him.

"Zoning out there Hitsugaya?"

Toshiro snapped out of his Momo-induced trance to see three people heading over to join them at their table.

"Momo," Toshiro said. "This is Uryu, Tatsuki and Orihime. They are all Ichigo's friends and, if memory serves correctly, Orihime is maid of honor."

An orange haired, large-chested woman directly across from Toshiro nodded. "That's me!"

Next to her, a serious looking man in glasses studied Toshiro, then Momo, then Toshiro again. "Ready for your speech Toshiro?"

"Don't remind me," Toshiro said with a grimace.

"Speech?" Momo asked.

"Yeah," said the woman Momo reasoned was Tatsuki. "He gets to give a small speech about the couple since he's best man."

"Until then, will you excuse us? Would you like to dance Momo?" Toshiro asked, holding out his hand.

She nodded and stood up to join him.

"You seemed eager to leave," Momo observed.

"I'm not much of a talker," Toshiro said. "Besides, I was enjoying my evening with you."

The two continued to dance. Toshiro could not help but focus on Momo's hands, her skin, her lips. Everything about her was tempting him.

"It is... It is a great night," Momo said, looking Toshiro in the eye. "Thank you for inviting me."

"Thank you for actually accepting."

The two continued to sway slowly on the dance floor. One, two, three songs passed, but they did not notice for they were far too caught up in looking into each other's eyes. Toshiro leaned forward and placed his lips on Momo's shoulder, sending a shiver down her spine. He continued to place small, light kisses on her skin, slowly making his way up to her mouth. If it wasn't for Toshiro taking the lead, Momo would have stopped dancing completely, far too paralyzed for by the overwhelming feeling of his mouth on her skin. Momo closed her eyes. Her hand on Toshiro's shoulder clutched the fabric of his skirt. When Toshiro had made his way up to her neck, he took her ear in his mouth, gently biting down. A low moan escaped Momo's mouth.

He pulled away from her skin with reluctance. Pulling his hand away from her hip, he placed both of his hands on both sides of Momo's head, tilting her face up to look at him. Her eyes were wide, giving away the swirl of emotions running through her mind. He slowly caressed her face with his thumbs, relishing in the feel of her skin against the rough skin of his hands. She was waiting, waiting for him to claim her lips as his own. He began to move forward.

"Ummm... I am really sorry for interrupting. Wow am I sorry."

The hypnotic trance between Momo and Toshiro vanished as they jumped into awareness at the sound of the voice. Detaching from each other, the pair turned to see the bespectacled man from earlier awkwardly standing by.

"Ichigo needs you, Toshiro," Uryu continued. "Byakuya is demanding they start the toasts and you know he doesn't like to be kept waiting."

Toshiro cleared his throat as he grappled to gain his composure. "Of-of course. I'll be right there." He turned to Momo. "I have to go," he said reluctantly. "Go sit down, have some more wine. I'll join you as soon as I'm done."

Momo nodded, still too flustered to speak. Her mind was still focused on the incredibly addicting sensation of Toshiro's mouth along her skin. If only they hadn't of been interrupted. The moment had been too perfect.

After taking a few deep breaths, Momo headed over to the tables were people were gathering. She accepted another glass of wine from a server and sat down at the first available seat she found.

At the front of the room, the bridal party had gathered. Momo recognized the small group from earlier, as well as Toshiro. The future bride and groom stood in the center, still beaming and wrapped in each other's arms. It was the figure to the left of the bride that was unfamiliar to Momo.

He stood proper and gaunt in a perfectly tailored suit. Unlike the rest of the bridal party, a large smile was not stretched across his face. Rather, he had a seemingly neutral expression. His hair was long and held up with strange shaped metal rods.

Only after he spoke did Momo learned that this was the infamous Byakuya Kuchiki.

Each member of the bridal party said a few words, praising the love of the bride and the groom. With each speech, Rukia and Ichigo's happiness became more and more apparent.

Finally it was Toshiro's turn. Taking the microphone, he cleared his throat, ran his hands through his messy hair and began.

"When I first met Ichigo, if you had told me he would manage to convince someone as beautiful as Rukia, I would have told you you were crazy."

The room laughed. Besides him, Ichigo ran through his hand through his hair, a guilty look on his face.

"Despite this, I have had the privilege of watching their love grow. I ask now that everyone please raise a glass to toast happy couple. To Ichigo and Rukia!"

"To Ichigo and Rukia!" The room echoed.

At the front of the room, Toshiro caught Momo's gaze and winked.

They drove home in silence, both tired from the evenings events. Halfway through the drive, Toshiro reached his hand out and grasped Momo's in his own. They held hands the rest of the way to Momo's apartment.

"Here we are," Toshiro said.

"Thank you," Momo said. She began to get out the door of Toshiro's car when he spoke up.

"I'll walk you to your door."

She didn't argue. The two headed up the stairs of the apartment. When the reached the door, Momo pulled out her keys and turned to Toshiro.

"Thank you, again. I had a lovely night." She started to unlock the door when Toshiro suddenly grabbed her shoulder, spun her around and crashed his lips into her own.

He moved to press her against the wall, fiercely kissing her. She could not think, her head clouded with wine and her turmoil of emotions. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. Their mouths opened for each other, willingly allowing their tongues to meet and explore the other's mouths.

Toshiro ran his hands up and down her long, silky neck before picking Momo up by the waist and pressing her harder into the wall. She wrapped her legs around him as she continued to deepen the kiss.

Their two mouths fought for dominance as their hands continued to feel, grab and explore every inch of skin available. Toshiro's hands slowly slipped down into the top of Momo's dress as he began to fondle her breasts. In response, Momo let out a low, erotic moan as she continued to kiss him with every ounce of energy she had.

Toshiro moved his mouth to her neck, biting down on her skin. Momo let out a small cry before moving her hands into his white mane, pressing his face into her neck as though begging for more. He responded, eagerly sucking on her exposed flesh as his hands continued to play with her breasts.

It was only after Momo had moved her hands from his hair and down to his belt did Toshiro allow himself stop indulging in the succulent taste of her skin.

"Why-" Momo gasped. Her lips were swollen from his kisses and her brow shone with sweat. "Why did you stop?"

"Because," he growled softly in her ear. "If I don't stop now, I don't think I'll be able to stop at all."

"That's okay," Momo said as she grabbed his face and placed another kiss on his lips. "That's okay with me."

"But not with me," Toshiro said. He began to unwrap Momo from his waist and place her back on the floor. Once they were no longer wrapped up in each other's arms, he placed a single, gentle hand on her face. "It's not that I don't want this Momo. I want this. I want you. But I don't want to do anything that will make you feel as though I've taken advantaged of you."

Momo nodded. She respected Toshiro's decision, however unwillingly.

"So now, I really must be going," Toshiro said as he leaned in for one more sweet kiss. It was filled with longing and desire, but neither of them entertained the emotion.

"Goodnight, Toshiro," Momo whispered as they separated.

"Goodnight, my beautiful Momo," Toshiro said before he walking away.

Even in her dreams, Momo had never felt this way. She fell asleep quickly, dreaming of Toshiro, dancing and a perfect night.


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: this chapter is a slight filler... But next chapter will have lots of fluff before things start to get a little more serious. **Also, for those asking for a lemon, notice the rating has changed. Just be patient. :) enj** oy and please review!

"Nice hickey."

The next morning, Momo found Nanao already bright and alert in the kitchen. Her eyes were wide and she seemed eager to hear all the details from last night.

"Is it really that bad?" Momo asked, rushing over to a mirror they had in the hallway.

Sure enough, there was a decent sized bruise along the right side of her neck. At the bottom of the mark, a faint bite mark could be made out.

"So, did you sleep him now?" Nanao said as she watched Momo inspect the mark on her skin.

"No!" Momo said sternly.

"Then explain the mark," Nanao said with a smirk.

"We just got a... a little carried away. That's all," Momo said. "But we did not sleep together."

"Yet."

"Oh stop," Momo said. "Okay, so if I let my hair down, can you tell it's there? It's the middle of July so a scarf is out of the question."

"It covers most of it," Nanao said honestly. "Just put a bit of makeup over it and no one should notice. Now answer this honestly, do you think you'll see him again?"

Momo blushed and nodded. "I would like too."

"Awe, how cute," Nanao said. "Come. Sit. I've making pancakes. Shuhei and Kira are already on their way."

As if on cue, the doorbell rang. Momo stood up to answer it as Nanao began to prepare her batter.

"Morning Momo," Kira said with a smile.

"Damn Momo," Shuhei said as the two entered their friends' apartment. "Did a vampire attack you?"

Momo instinctively threw her hand over her hickey to cover it up. "You said it wasn't that noticeable Nanao!"

"No, I said use makeup," Nanao called out from the kitchen.

A smirk appeared on Shuhei's face. "Someone got some last night. Who's the lucky guy?"

"I can answer that," Nanao said as the three entered the kitchen. "A Doctor Toshiro Hitsugaya."

At the sound of his name, Kira's eyes widened, but he remained silent.

"Nanao, please stop telling Shuhei all about my life," Momo said, fire in her voice. "It's not like we slept together."

"Yet," said Shuhei and Nanao in unison.

"Oh shut it."

"But actually Momo," Kira said as he put on a brave face. "Aside from... yeah... how was the party?"

The four of them enjoyed Nanao's homemade pancakes as Momo went on to tell of the luxury that was the Kuchiki household.

"They had valet. In their driveway," Momo said. "I just... It overwhelmed me."

"Well, Byakuya Kuchiki is one incredibly good businessman," Kira said. "His net worth is mind blowing."

"His sister- Rukia, the one engaged- seemed quite nice though," Momo said. "And in love."

"And yet, here we are," Shuhei said with a sigh. "Single and eating waffles off paper plates."

"Well..." Nanao said as she glanced towards Momo. "Most of us are single."

"Okay, now you are just jumping a bit far," Momo said. "We have had a single date."

"That's how it starts!" Nanao said gleefully.

Momo did not answer. Her phone lit up with a call. It was Toshiro.

"I have to take this," Momo said leaving the room, ignoring Shuhei's wolf whistle.

"Hello?" Momo answered, trying to mask her eagerness.

"Good morning," Toshiro said on the other side of the phone. "How are you?"

"I'm wonderful," Momo said. "And you?"

"Same," Toshiro said. He seemed to be breathing heavily.

"Are you okay?" Momo asked. "You seem to be out of breath."

"Oh that," Toshiro laughed. "I just got back from taking Hyorinmaru on a run, though frankly it was the other way around."

Momo responded with a light, airy laugh.

"But to the point," Toshiro continued. "You seem to have made quite the impression on Rukia and Ichigo. A few friends are continuing the engagement festivities today at Rukia's and they keep pestering me to bring you along. I figured it would be easier I entertain them so... I'm just asking..." His voice faded off.

"That's sounds great."

There was a sigh. Toshiro had been holding his breath in anticipation for her answer. "I'll pick you up at noon?"

"Noon works. Do I need anything?"

"Not really. Maybe a swimsuit. the Kuchiki's take care of their guests."

"Well, we have guest for breakfast so I have to be going! But I'll see you at noon," Momo said with a smile. She hung up and returned to the table significantly more friendly than before.

"You're in a good mood," Nanao said.

"That was Toshiro. He's picking me up at noon," Momo said. She was practically gushing.

They spent the rest of breakfast teasing Momo over her budding romance with Toshiro. Momo did not care. Nothing could wipe the smile off her face.

* * *

Toshiro arrived promptly at noon. He parked his car in the parking lot of Momo's apartment building and got out to head to her door. He had just made his way up the first flight of stairs when he was stopped by a familiar individual. It was Momo's friend, Kira and he had a frown across his face.

"Good afternoon, Kira," Toshiro said, nodding politely.

"Good afternoon, professor," Kira said a bit harshly. "Do you have a moment?"

"Um, I was kind of on my way to pick up Momo," Toshiro said. He tried to continue on his way to her apartment, but before he could take another step, Kira moved forward, blocking him.

"It's about Momo, actually," Kira said in the same sharp tone.

Toshiro sighed. Obviously Kira was determined to talk, so he figured it would be best to entertain him.

"What about Momo?"

"Look, I'll be frank. I'm not here to try and tell you not to pursue her. You obviously like Momo and she obviously likes you."

Toshiro nodded and let Kira continue.

"However, I will tell you this. In the past, the men Momo has involved herself with have treated her like shit. I'm personally warning you that if you give me or Shuhei any reason to believe you are taking advantage of Momo, we won't hesitate." Kira gave Toshiro one last look before turning around and heading in the direction of his own apartment. He did not wait to hear what Toshiro had to say. He had given his warning and that's what was important.

Toshiro, on the other hand, was completely bewildered. Kira had not tried to convince to stay away from Momo; clearly respected her decisions on who she involved herself with. Still, the bitterness in his voice that had developed upon recounting Momo's dating history stuck in his mind.

He wishes he could ask Momo, but they were clearly not at this level of intimacy yet.

Toshiro sighed. It was yet another thing to ponder about his young grad student. He tried to shut the idea out of his mind and continued up the stairs to pick up his date.


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: Another chapter of pure fluff! Yay! I enjoy writing these the most. I planned out an outline of this story… you can expect this to be somewhere between 25-28 chapters. For all those who have commented… thank you. The more reviews I get, the more interest in this story I receive, so I just want to say thanks! Please enjoy and review!

Momo and Toshiro chatted the entire drive to the Kuchiki manor. They talked a little bit about everything, but Toshiro kept his conversation with Kira from Momo. He needed to take time to think about it himself before asking Momo herself.

"So, don't let them scare you off," Toshiro said with a sheepish smile. "You know, if this is a bit.. much just let me know. I know how my friends are."

"They seem sweet," Momo said with a soft smile. "And it's not too much. I like being with you."

At this, Toshiro blushed and softly squeezed the hand he had been holding. "I like being with you too."

"So tell me more about your friends," Momo said. Her night had been consumed with Toshiro and she had barely had time to think get to know any of his friends. Her eyes had been too busy glued to the handsome man at her side.

"Rukia is going to law school. She plans to be her brother's lawyer so the two can dominate the business world together. Ichigo's in med school. Uryu is a successful accountant. For how young he is, he already has an impressive group of clients."

"Oh," Momo said. "All your friends seem to have their life together."

"They do," Toshiro said, not picking up on the nervous tone in Momo's voice. "Oh look! We are here."

They had returned to Kuchiki manner. Unlike the night before, there were no valet waiting to take Toshiro's car to an unknown location. He simply parked it in front of the house, took Momo's hand and walked inside. Once inside, a servant directed him to the back patio where his friends had settled around an elegant wire garden table waiting for lunch.

"Toshiro!" Ichigo called out as the pair walked through the French doors that lead out to the backyard. "He's here! And he brought Momo! Come! Sit down, sit down! Have a mimosa! Have a bloody mary! Have both! I've had both!"

"Don't mind Ichigo," the woman Momo remember as Tatsuki said. "He's trying to make up for last night. Rukia wouldn't let him drink so he wouldn't make a fool of himself in front of the honored guest. He's a few drinks in."

"More than a few," Ichigo said with a laugh. "Now, do you want anything?"

"Surprise me," Momo said shyly. Besides her, Toshiro waved his car keys and politely declined.

Next to Ichigo, Rukia waved her hand, signaling an unseen servant. Quickly, a woman emerged from the door. "Yes Miss Kuchiki?"

"Get this beautiful girl something to drink," Rukia said, gesturing to Momo.

"Of course," the maid said before leaving.

"Oh, Momo, I don't think we've had a chance to introduce ourselves." The voice came from someone besides Ichigo that Momo did not recognize. He had spiky, bright red hair. "I'm Renji."

"Nice to meet you," Momo said with a smile.

"So Momo," Uryu asked. "You're the first girl of Toshiro's I've ever met. Tell us about yourself."

Momo did not know what made her feel more flustered, the fact that Uryu had called her Toshiro's girl or the fact that for the first time ever, Toshiro had not rejected the fact.

"Um, well I'm currently starting my grad studies at the University. I focus in microbiology. I have a cat. Honestly, I'm not very exciting."

"Nonsense," Ichigo said as he continued to sip his drink. "You are very exciting. The fact that Toshiro is so fascinated with you is evidence enough."

"I'm not fascinated with her," Toshiro said defensively.

"Yeah Ichigo," Renji said with a laugh. "We know Toshiro isn't a creep. Don't make him sound like one. But really, Momo, tell us about yourself. We all just want to get to know you."

"Here you are ma'am." Momo turned to see the servant Rukia had summoned earlier offering her a large martini. She immediately took a sip, desperately hoping for the smallest amount of liquid courage. "What do you want to know?"

"Tell us about your family" Orihime said. She was perched on the arm of Uryu's chair and was currently eating a colorful concoction. "Also, does anyone want some red-bean paste with horseradish."

"Ew, don't offer that. No one here wants to die." Ichigo said. Besides him, Rukia smacked him across the arm, reprimanding him for the comment. "Stop abusing your future husband woman!"

Momo laughed at the crazy antics of the couple before her. Besides her, Toshiro softly grabbed her hand, as if he was trying to silently tell her that his friends truly just wanted to know who she was and that it was safe to proceed. Momo sighed. "I'm an only child. My parents live far from the city. They own a bookstore."

"A bookstore, how quaint," Uryu said.

"You must love reading," Rukia reasoned.

Momo nodded. "I do. Growing up, I would spend all my free time in their store, reading every book I could get my hands on."

"What's your favorite?" Tatsuki asked.

"Wuthering Heights," Momo answered.

"I loved that movie!" Orihime said with a smile.

"The movie doesn't even come close," Uryu said.

"How would you know Ishida?" Toshiro asked, a small smile on his face. "Unless you are well read with romantic novels from long ago."

"Its a classic," Uryu said defensively.

"It's still a chick book," Ichigo said. "Go on, Momo. Ignore our useless banter."

"What else would you like to know?" She asked.

"Why microbiology?" This question came from Toshiro. The whole group raised their eyebrows in surprise at this question.

"Oh, that's simple," Momo said with a smile. "I like studying how things that are so small can have such a huge effect on our world. It's fascinating. Don't judge a book by it's cover."

"CLIQUE!" Ichigo drunkenly called out.

"That's it, I'm cutting you off," Rukia said to him as she rolled her eyes.

"Why would you do that Ru-Ki-Ah?"

"You keep interrupting our guest," Rukia answered. "And it's two in the afternoon Ichigo. A glass of water won't hurt you."

Before Ichigo could answer, two servants appeared to let the small party know that lunch had been served. The group moved to an elegant dining room and sat down at a beautiful wooden table. Momo was pleased to see Toshiro take the seat directly next to her.

"You're doing good," Toshiro muttered in her ear when no one was listening.

"Do they ever calm down?" Momo whispered back.

"No."

At this, Momo let out a giggle that was virtually silent.

"What's so funny?" Toshiro asked.

"I would never have thought you would be friends with such… lively people," Momo answered honestly.

"They are Ichigo's friends. I'm just included in the group. I befriended Ichigo and they sort of became a package deal. Besides, I have enough calm for everyone here."

"That you do."

The two smiled at each other, quickly forgetting for a moment that they were in a full room of people.

"Awe, look at those two," Orihime cooed. "Don't you think so Tatsuki?"

"Sure, sure," Tatsuki said, clearly just trying to appease her friend. "Yo, Rukia, where's your domineering brother of yours?"

Rukia rolled her eyes as she began to dig into her meal. "In his office. Where else? Yesterday was enough mindless social interaction for him."

"I still can't believe he said Ichigo could marry you," Toshiro said with a laugh, returning fully to the conversation.

"I still can't believe it," Ichigo said. "Like, honestly."

"Oh shut up, brother loves you," Rukia said to Ichigo.

"If by love, you mean he loves the thought of me being castrated, then yeah, he loves me."

Momo spent the majority of the meal in silence. She preferred to listen to the playful, witty banter that Toshiro's friends naturally used. She particularly liked watching Toshiro interact with his friends. It made her internally happy that he had a group of friends like this. She had begun to realize that his icy exterior was merely a facade he used at work to help gain respect. In reality, if he cared about you, he had a heart of gold.

"Lunch was amazing," Momo said after the group had finished the extravagant meal. "Thank you so much for having me over, Rukia."

"Don't thank me," Rukia said. "Any friend of Toshiro's is a friend of mine and Ichigo's."

"Now how should we waste the day away?" Renji asked.

"Not planning the wedding, that's how," said Tatsuki across from him. "I've seen so many different options for the bridesmaid dresses today. There is no difference between salmon and coral."

"Yes there is," Orihime said. "But I agree. No more wedding talk."

"I know!" Ichigo said as Rukia handed him another glass of water, demanding his drunken self drink it. "Let's go play a friendly game of soccer!"

"You're drunk as can be and you want to play soccer?" Uryu said.

"With the rate Rukia is giving me water, I'll be good enough to kick all of your asses!" Ichigo said. "Besides, I'm mid-day drunk. Not mid-night-out drunk. Totally different."

"Not mine," Toshiro said besides Momo. "Mid-day drunk or not, I'll still kick your ass."

"I'll take that bet," Ichigo said. He held out his hand for Toshiro to shake. "Twenty bucks my team kicks your ass."

"Make it fifty and we have a deal."

The two shook.

"Well alright," Uryu said matter-of-factly. "How about we all get dressed and meet outside in ten?"

"Come with me, Momo," Rukia said standing up. "I have spare clothes you can wear. You can't go playing soccer in that sundress."

Momo followed Rukia, Orihime and Tatsuki down the hall and upstairs to what she reasoned was Rukia's room.

The first thing that struck her about the room was that, for a law student, the room was overwhelmingly immature. It was painted a light, pale pink. The large canopy bed was decorated in pink and white. It wasn't the furniture necessarily that made the room childish. It was the incredible amount of Chappy the bunny collectibles that were scattered around the room. The bed had at least a dozen stuffed Chappy dolls of various sizes. Posters of Chappy lined the walls. There was even a Chappy themed lamp and alarm clock on Rukia's bedside table.

"Whoa," Momo said without hesitation upon taking in the sight.

"Right," said Tatsuki. "It's a lot."

"Don't insult Chappy in my house," Rukia said, pouting.

"I can't believe you and Ichigo have sex in here," Tatsuki replied. "I mean, I would be concerned that all the Chappys were just going to stare at me the whole time."

"Oh shut up," Rukia said as she made her way to the large walk-in closet on one side of the room. "But we usually spend the nights at his house anyway. Brother's not a fan of our sleepovers here. Momo what size are you?"

"Small," Momo replied shyly. "And really, thank you for being so kind to me."

"It's our pleasure Momo!" Orihime said with a smile as she got changed into her athletic clothes. "Honestly, anything to see Toshiro smile."

"Here," Rukia said, walking out of her closet. "This should fit. Let me know if it doesn't." She handed Momo a pair of standard running shorts, a sports bra and a tank top.

"Thanks," Momo said as she begun changing herself. "It looks just my size. Now can I ask you three a question, girl to girl?"

"Of course!" Orihime replied as she beamed at Momo.

"Why- um, it doesn't seem like Toshiro dates a lot by what you say. Why do you think that is?"

"That's easy," said Tatsuki. She was sitting at Rukia's vanity putting on a headband to keep her short hair out of her eyes. "He's convinced himself the only way anyone will ever take him seriously is to be as cold as ice. He makes no exceptions for anyone he encounters on a daily basis."

"Anyone except you!" Orihime chimed.

"Here Momo," Rukia said as she threw her a pair of running shoes. "I forgot to give you these. Besides, you two forget how picky Toshiro is. Every girl Ichigo or Renji try and get him to go for has some problem or another. Too tall, too old, too blonde... blah blah blah."

"And yet, he would go for the grad student. Scandalous." Tatsuki said with a smile. "Well, I'm ready."

"Hold on, let me put my hair up and we can go," Rukia said as she joined Tatsuki at the mirror. "And it's not scandalous. I asked Toshiro. It's allowed. There's no rule against it. It's just not recommended because you are supposed to work together."

"But I'm only in Toshiro's lab temporarily," Momo interjected. "Six more weeks and then I'll be assigned someone else when school starts."

"Even better!" Rukia said with a smile. "Now are you ready to watch our fools attempt to outperform the other?"

"Who do you think will win?" Momo asked curiously. The group finished getting ready and soon exited Rukia's room and headed back into the main part of the house.

"Toshiro's better, but it depends on the team," Tatsuki said. "They'll flip a coin to see who picks first."

"Rukia!" A voice called out from somewhere unseen. "Ready to watch me win!"

"Ready to watch you make a fool out of yourself," Rukia muttered just loud enough for the girls to hear. The group fell into a quiet fit of giggles.

"What's so funny?" Ichigo had finally walked over to where the girls stood waiting for the men.

"Nothing babe," Rukia said with a smile. "I just said I know you're going to win."

"Damn right I am."

Once everyone had assembled outside in the large grass area the Kuchiki's had in their backyard, a now-slightly sober Ichigo and Toshiro made there way over to Uryu who was holding up a quarter.

"Okay, who's gonna call it?"

"Toshiro can," Ichigo smirked. "Think of it as charity."

"Whatever," Toshiro scowled. "Heads."

Uryu nodded and tossed the coin in the air before catching it and slapping it back down on his palm. "Bad call. Tails it is!"

At this, Ichigo threw his hands up in a celebratory fist pump. "Fuck yeah! Tatsuki, you're with me."

The two took turns picking teams. Eventually, Ichigo ended up with Tatsuki, Uryu and Rukia while Toshiro had Orihime, Renji and Momo.

"Same rules as always. First to five. Don't play dirty," Uryu explained.

For the most part, Momo was relatively useless. She had never been one for organized sports, preferring to curl up with a good book or spend her day studying in the library. She found that, with only four people per team, she it was completely impossible to do absolutely nothing, but she found herself making the safest moves possible. A small kick to Renji, a pass to Toshiro. She never dared to try to make a goal.

Toshiro, on the other hand, was absolutely spectacular at soccer. He was carrying the team singlehandedly. For each advancement Ichigo's team made, he counteracted with speed and skill. Sure, Ichigo's team was overall better, but Toshiro was talented enough to outmatch them all.

He moved faster than Momo could ever hope too. Toshiro was always in the right place at the right time. He was agile and nimble, making shots that rivaled the best college players. Ichigo, still recovering from his mid-day drinks, tried to keep up with Toshiro, but found himself stumbling at every try. His constant fumbles and mistakes opened up even more opportunities for Toshiro to dominate the game.

Plus, Momo had to admit that there was something overly sexy about watching Toshiro play with such focus and skill. He was completely absorbed in the game, following the ball as though his life depended on it. His confidence, Momo thought, was perhaps the most attractive part of it all.

In the end, thanks to Toshiro's remarkable handling skills, they ended up winning.

"It's okay," Toshiro said with a smirk. "Just blame it on the alcohol and being 'mid-day drunk'."

Ichigo scowled but once they were back inside, he pulled out his wallet and reluctantly handed Toshiro the cash.

By now, it was almost dinner time and Momo was tired from the unusual amount of physical activity she had performed. As they were sitting around a table going over possible venues for the upcoming nuptials, she let out a long, unexpected yawn.

"We should probably go home," Toshiro said. "We have work in the morning and it's a good forty minute drive back to Momo's apartment."

"That's probably best," Rukia said with a smile. She turned to Momo. "Please feel free to always accompany Toshiro when he visits."

"Thank you so much for your hospitality," Momo said again.

"It's no problem, really."

The group said their goodbyes and the pair left. As soon as Toshiro and Momo had got into his car, Momo let out another yawn.

"I haven't ran that much in years."

"Not a big soccer fan?" Toshiro asked.

"Not a big exercise fan. I prefer to read."

"Well, you did great and they all liked you so thank you for coming."

"Thank you for having me. By the way, I never got to tell you, but you have some impressive soccer skills."

Toshiro shrugged. "All my life people have told me I had a shot at playing in college, but that would have required me to not graduate when I was still a teenager and I didn't want to put my academic career on hold. Besides," he grabbed Momo's hand and gave it a squeeze, "I had to someone to impress today, so my skills were extra on-point."

The rest of the drive was rather uneventful. Momo, clearly tired for the day, fell asleep leaning against the window. Toshiro decided that she was adorable and left her to quietly rest. When they reached her apartment, he reluctantly shook her awake. By now, it was almost nightfall.

"Momo, wake up. We are here."

"Hmmm," Momo said, swatting his hand away.

"Come on Momo." With a frustrated sigh, Momo reluctantly opened her eyes to find Toshiro staring at her with an amused look on his face. "Morning sleepyhead."

"It doesn't look like morning."

"Had a nice nap?"

"Yes, until it was so rudely interrupted," Momo said as she collected her purse and got out of the car.

The two walked in comfortable silence to Momo's apartment, holding hands the whole way. Once they were outside, Momo turned to Toshiro, a light blush on her cheeks.

"So..." She said softly. "You can come inside of you would like."

They both knew what she was giving him permission and Toshiro stood there struggling internally with the silent battle between his morals and his hormones. He signed. "Look, Momo, I shouldn't. Not because I don't want too, but more because of the whole situation."

At this, Momo's face fell, but before she could answer, Toshiro continued.

"It's not that I don't like you. I do. I so very very much do. It's just, at the end of the day you are a grad student and I'm a professor. It's okay for us to date. We aren't doing anything wrong I just-"

"You just what?" Momo asked, almost scared for his answer.

"I just want to wait a bit before we do anything that way, when people find out, I won't be accused of just using you for sex and you won't be accused of sleeping around with the staff. I want to wait because I want it to be very, very clear that my interest is with you and your personality and not with your body."

Momo nodded. This made sense. "A man who respects women. I can't really complain about that."

"So please, just a little more time," Toshiro said. He leaned forward and kissed her.

Before the kiss could turn deeper Momo pulled away, her mind suddenly occupied. "This is totally unrelated, but I just remembered and I don't want to forget. I need tomorrow afternoon off."

"Why?"

"Something personal has come up."

This worried Toshiro. His face turned into a frown. "Anything wrong that you would like to talk about?"

Momo shook her head. "No, I'm fine. I just need to have tomorrow afternoon off."

"Of course," Toshiro said. Now that the mood had died, he gave Momo one last kiss on the lips before departing for the night.

He could not help but dwell on why Momo needed more time off. He strongly suspected Professor Aizen had something to do with it, and he was going to find out.


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: college has started. Yuck. For me, this means updates are going to slow down whether I like it or not. I'm a chemistry major so all I do is study. I'll try and update at least once every week or so, but now that summers over I can't promise anything. Enjoy and review!

After spending the day with Toshiro and his friends, Momo officially decided that she could call whatever was between her and Toshiro a 'thing'. They weren't dating yet- a few stolen kisses against her front door did not equal a relationship- but there was for sure undeniable chemistry that were drawing them closer with each day.

Chemistry. The irony, Momo thought to herself as she finished up one Toshiro's lab on Monday morning.

"Alright, well I'm heading out for the afternoon," Momo said to Toshiro. She had finished her work for the morning and was preparing to attend the next trial of Aizen's.

She did not know that Toshiro was fully aware of what exactly her 'personal matter' was and Toshiro would never admit to reading her letter from Urahara.

"Alright Momo," Toshiro said, looking up from the microscope he had set up at his station. He looked over to the young grad student waiting by the door. "You know I'm always here if you need to talk to me."

"I know," Momo said with a soft smile. "But o assure you, I'm fine." With that she closed the door and left.

As soon as Momo was gone, Toshiro allowed the scowl he had been withholding to freely overtake his facial features. He doubted she was fine. Last time she had taken a 'personal day', Momo had been an emotionally unstable mess for the remainder of the week.

He continued to finish his work for the next hour or so before calling it a day. His mind was far too preoccupied with Momo and her mysterious emotional attachment to his old colleague than his work. Soon, he would stop focusing on his research altogether. He reasoned that it was better to call it a day than mess up any important results because of he was no longer paying full attention.

Besides, he had another motive. Toshiro wanted to head into his office and use his computer to research Aizen personally.

After a quick lunch break, Toshiro headed back to his office, tea in hand. He started up his computer and set about to get some answers.

His gut feeling told him Aizen was the center of this, so he begun there.

He googled Aizen. Back when Aizen was working at the university, Toshiro had crossed paths with Aizen on a few occasions. This usually meant staff meeting or staff functions where there was little opportunity for free interaction, so Toshiro had little to no opinion of Aizen's personality. Their respective areas of research were far too different for them to interact on a regular basis. No, all Toshiro knew of Aizen as a colleague was that he had been released from the university a few months prior and had tough two undergraduate classes Momo had taken.

A quick goggle of Aizen showed him as a model scientist. His research was acclaimed across the country and he often held discussions and presentations. Why, Aizen even had a program where he directly involved brilliant high school students in his lab for a few weeks each year. A model scientist indeed.

Once Toshiro decided that further research of Aizen was futile, he decided to do Google Momo. This made him relatively uncomfortable. If Momo found out, she would clearly be weirded out, but Toshiro reasoned that it, in the event this ever came up in conversation, he would just say that he had googled her early in the summer when she was still an unknown, temporarily lab assistant.

This search, Toshiro discovered, was a lot more informative.

With a few clicks of his mouse, Toshiro discovered that Momo had been a model student at her high school. She had graduated top ten in her class and had been apart of a team of students who competed at science competitions in high school.

The thought of beautiful Momo as a high school science nerd made Toshiro smile. They were alike at their core.

It was one article from a local high-school paper that really caught Toshiro's eye. It was an interview of Momo shortly after one of her various high school science competitions. Specifically, it was question eight that made him pause.

 _Who inspires you in the sciences?_

Her answer made Toshiro's stomach turn.

 _My biggest inspiration is one of our family friends, Doctor Sosuke Aizen of Karakura University. Doctor Aizen has gone out of his way to allow me to visit his lab and observe his research. This has opened my eyes to the opportunities I can take as I pursue a career in science_.

The article was dated five years ago, when Momo would have been about seventeen years old. Toshiro did not like it, not in the least bit. Nevertheless, all he could assume was that Aizen's current legal development was emotionally hard on Momo, especially if she had considered him a mentor and inspiration.

Despite this, Toshiro's instinct told him that there was somehow more. He decided to google one more thing.

The trial of Sosuke Aizen v. Karakura University.

The resulting web pages were a disappointment. They all contained the same details Urahara had told Toshiro himself a few weeks ago in his office. The details of the case were private from the public because it involved minors. Aizen had been removed from his position at the University and that esteemed lawyer Kisuke Urahara and his team of law students and assistants were representing the University.

A team of law students.

Rukia.

Toshiro suddenly remembered that Rukia had been selected for an internship under Urahara. This detail must have been cast aside with all the recent excitement of her engagement and Toshiro's newfound budding relationship.

He would have to ask Rukia privately. As a lawyer, she would not be allowed to say much.

As a friend, perhaps she could provide a few crucial details.

He was going to ask Rukia. It was decided.

Toshiro then set about on how to make Momo's mood better after the trial. Once he decided how, he made a few phone calls. If this didn't make her smile, well, he would do anything else.

After all, he lived for her smile.

* * *

Momo arrived home from court in a horrible mood. It was significantly less morbid than the first time she had appeared in court- she already knew what to expect and how to mentally prepare- but that did not eliminate the overwhelming emotions she felt. All she wanted was to crawl into bed with Tobiume and sleep.

When she entered the apartment, she found Nanao cooking. From Momo's body language alone, Nanao could tell that her chipper and bubbly friend was indeed mentally exhausted.

"Hungry?" Was all Nanao asked.

Momo shook her head. "I'm going to lay down. I'm done with today."

Nanao nodded, fully understanding. "At least check you desk. There is a little surprise waiting for you." She then returned to her cooking to allow Momo peace and quiet.

Momo nodded and slowly made her way to her room, growing eager to simply collapse in her own bed for hours. When she reaches her room, she turned on the light and, as instructed, look at her desk. What she found took her breath away.

Sitting on her desk was the most elegant display of flowers Momo had ever received. They stood perched in a fine crystal vase tied with a large, yellow, silk ribbon. There were flowers of all colors, shapes and smells. Momo smiled as she walked up to the extravagant arrangement. Attached to the vase was a small card.

 _To bring back your beautiful smile. -T_

Momo could not help but blush at this gesture. In the end, Toshiro was right. Her day had been draining and tough, but this flower arrangement made her eager to return to work tomorrow to thank him personally.

Maybe she would get over this ordeal after all.


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: Here you go. This is long… like super, super long but I hope you guys like it. For all of you being patient... I know you'll like the end of this chapter ;)

Toshiro? Toshiro can you help me?"

Toshiro looked over to find Momo standing besides him.

"I seem to have spilled something on my lab coat and now it's... so... very... dirty..." Momo emphasized the last few words before biting her lip and looking Toshiro straight in the eye. "Perhaps I need to take it off?"

Toshiro found he couldn't speak. The best he could do was produce a muffled gurgle from the back of his throat.

"Or," Momo said as she reached and grabbed his hands. "Maybe you can take it off for me." She placed his hands on the top most button of her lab coat before leaning in and whispering. "Oh, did I mention, I'm not wearing anything underneath."

Toshiro's hands were shaking as he slowly unbuttoned the top button of her coat. He continued down her coat, soon reaching the button that when undone, would expose her breast to him. He swallowed and continued his work. Momo was smirking at him, still biting her lip in the most adorable way.

He was just about to open her coat and expose her beautiful body to him when-

Beep! Beep!

Toshiro's eyes flew open and he found himself in the solitude of his own bedroom, save Hyorinmaru laying on the foot of the bed. He was gasping for air, clearly overwhelmed by the erotic dream that had been interrupted.

He sat up in bed and began to massage his temples in attempts to remove the image of Momo eagerly allowing him to undress her from his mind. With reluctance he got up and jumped into a cold- very cold- shower so he could prepare for the day.

Though he could not help it, Toshiro's mind kept wandering back to the dream, making him feel dirty and unclean. For a twenty-two year old man, Toshiro's sexual urges were surprisingly mild on a normal bases. He felt no need to lust after the women he met each day. Dreams like this were rare.

He continued to get ready, trying to keep his mind on anything but Momo's quaint little body and succulent bottom lip.

It did not help matters that he was showing so much self-control and restraint when it came to her. He knew it was necessary. Their relationship would be much more accepted in the academic community- if it indeed developed into more as Toshiro hoped- if it was obvious that Toshiro's main motive for liking Momo was her mind and not her skills in bed.

He arrived to work a few minutes early that day and headed to his lab immediately. Maybe manipulating the structure of a few well-known pharmaceutical compounds would help get his mind off things.

Momo came bounding in the lab at 8:30 exactly. Unlike the last time she took a day off for 'personal reasons', today she had a wide smile on her face.

Perfect, Toshiro though. She liked my gift.

"Good morning! Thank you for the flowers," Momo said to him with a blush. "They were beautiful."

Toshiro nodded, trying to keep his composure as memories of dream-Momo throwing herself at him invaded his mind. "I'm glad you liked them."

Momo walked over to him and surprised him with a light kiss to the cheek. "They are amazing."

Toshiro hesitate for a second, unsure whether or not to capture Momo's lips with his own before reality hit him. This was real life, not a dream. They were in his actual lab where actual critically-acclaimed research took place. No, it was time to focus, not time for kisses.

"Have you finished the NMRs?" Toshiro asked, quickly changing the situation.

"No, I was going too," Momo said. "How's your work going?"

"Oh you know, the same," Toshiro said with a shrug. "Some bonds just won't break, even if the physics seems to be in place."

"Well, I'll leave you to focus on that," Momo said with a smile.

The rest of the morning was filled with nothing but the humming of the various apparatuses and machines used in Toshiro's lab. Around lunch time, he looked at Momo. "You can go to lunch now."

Momo looked at the clock. Kira would be waiting for her in their usual spot in the library. She nodded and turned to Toshiro. "I'll be back in 45!"

Momo headed down to the library to find Kira already eating. "Sorry I'm late!" She said with a smile. "How are you?"

"I am fine," Kira said. "You seem to be having a good day considering."

They both knew Kira was referencing yesterday's trial, but neither wanted to clarify.

"I know. Toshiro sent me flowers yesterday and it made me realize that I can't let a minor legal complication ruin my week."

"Good," Kira said and he meant it. He was not a fan of her budding relationship with Toshiro- more because he was a professor than anything else- but it pleased him that Toshiro managed to stop Momo's inevitable sadness. "I'm glad. So how was yesterday at the Kuchiki's manor?"

Momo and Kira chatted freely for the rest of their lunch break. As the conversation continued, Kira decided that he was, in fact, very grateful for Toshiro. He had managed to stop Momo from brooding over the trial all week. That didn't mean he would stop keeping an eye on him, he was just slightly less antagonist about Momo and Toshiro's relationship.

When lunch ended, Momo headed back to the lab to find it empty. She sighed and headed up to Toshiro's office, which was located one floor above his laboratory. When she reached his office, she found Toshiro fast asleep in his office chair.

Momo stood there, trying to decide how to counter the situation. Should she wake him? No, she didn't want to face his wrath. Instead, she simply sat down at the chair provided for her and decided to wait.

Momo watched as Toshiro slept, his spiky hair a mess. His face was peaceful, free from the scowl he permanently wore at work. He looked young and innocent, almost like a child.

A good quarter of an hour passed by before Toshiro's phone vibrated, waking him up with a resounding thud as his elbows made contact with the desktop.

"Fuck!" Toshiro yelped. He then realized that he was still in his office. "What time is it?" He asked as he began to massage his banged elbows.

"Almost 1," Momo replied softly.

"Why didn't you wake me?"

"You looked so... peaceful," Momo said with a giggle. "Why didn't you set an alarm?"

Toshiro muttered something about forgetting as he stood up to collect his keys. Momo followed the groggy professor down to his lab where they both resumed their work quietly.

After another half-hour or so, Toshiro was wide awake once again.

"I'm so happy to see you smiling, I was worried after yesterday," he said to Momo. He walked over to join her at her station and gave a few glances at her work. "Your lab work has improved greatly."

"I had a great weekend. Why wouldn't I be smiling?" Momo said as she continued to work. "And thank you, I've been really trying."

"Once you finished with this, all I need from you is to finish the filing in my office," Toshiro said. "You can leave early after, if you'd like."

"On one condition," Momo said with a small smile.

"Yes?"

Before Momo could reply, she leaned over and placed a kiss on Toshiro's lips, catching him off guard. "Keep Saturday free."

This intrigued him. "Why?"

"Just keep it free," Momo said with a soft smile. She finished cleaning up her station and looked at Toshiro. "I'll be in your office if you need me."

Deep down, Toshiro felt a bit guilty for sending Momo home early. Though he had passed it off as a gesture of kindness, he had another motive in mind. He continued his work for the next hour before a knock was heard from the front door of the lab.

"Come in."

Toshiro turned to see Rukia walk in the door, her leather book bag slung across her shoulder. She was dressed in a casual pants suit and had clearly come straight from her internship with Urahara. Perfect.

"First things first. Safety. There's a spare coat in the top drawer of those shelves," Toshiro said, pointing to the specific storage unit. "You should find safety goggles there too."

Rukia rolled her eyes at him, but did not protest. She headed over to the storage unit and began to put on one of the spare lab coats Toshiro had set aside for visitors.

"I don't know why you're having me wear this. I'm not working on anything and neither are you at the moment," Rukia said as she buttoned up her lab coat.

"Still. It's basic lab safety. Lab coat, goggles and closed toes shoes," Toshiro said. He looked down at Rukia's feed to find her in flats. "I'll be generous and ignore your footwear."

"Do you want to talk to me or not?" Rukia said with a sigh. "I brought the files like you asked."

Toshiro's face grew serious at this thought. "I thought you said you can't show me the files."

"If we are being realistic, I shouldn't even tell you I have access to them," said Rukia. "This case involves three minors, Toshiro. There are more privacy policies than you would believe. Why are you so interested in Aizen anyway?"

"Momo knew him and she keeps taking time off work to go to his trials. She always comes back upset, so I'm curious."

"Why don't you just ask her?" Rukia said. She was a bit confused on why Momo did not simply tell Toshiro himself. After all, at her house a few days earlier the two had been extremely cozy.

"She won't talk about it," Toshiro answered simply. "She hasn't officially told me she goes to his trials either. She asks for a personal day. I only know where she goes because I've managed to piece together that much."

"Have you ever thought you might be invading her privacy?" Rukia said with a sigh. She took a seat on Momo's usual stool right by Toshiro. "She doesn't want to tell you so why should I."

"Then don't tell me," Toshiro said. "I just want to know more about this Aizen character."

"He's from your department. You should know him."

"Our research is so vastly unrelated that we never crossed paths."

Rukia sighed. "Very well, but no one... and I mean absolutely no one... can know you got this information from me. I'm already going to be as vague as I can. Anyway, Aizen's been accused of sexual relations and/or unwanted sexual advances with minors. They were members of his popular high school intern program."

"Oh."

"Yeah," Rukia continued. "Momo wrote a letter about his character to support him. She said he was a family friend, a good guy, all that. She is not involved in the court case."

"I know that. Urahara told me as much. Sexual relations, huh?" Toshiro said.

"Supposedly," Rukia corrected. "None of the boys are willing to admit that it went beyond basic sexual remarks and text messages. They all seem so... charmed... by Aizen. None of them seem to think that there is anything wrong with what has happened. We only know that these incidents occurred in the first place because a mother saw a glimpse of questionable text messages on her son's phones and started an investigation."

"And how long ago was this?" Toshiro asked.

"About two years or go. This has been a really long process to get this fully in court."

Two years ago, Momo would still have been a student at the university so she had no immediate involvement in the activities. Perhaps she truly was just sticking up for a family friend.

"That's all I can tell you," Rukia said. "It's already more than you should know."

"It actually really helped," Toshiro said. He know knew some things about Aizen. A little information was better than nothing. "Thanks, Rukia. If you give me a few minutes I'll be done cleaning up and can walk you out."

Rukia nodded and waited patiently for Toshiro to finish up his lab work for the day. After he had tidied up the lab, entered his results in his lab journal and locked up the room, he followed Rukia out the door and down the stairs to the parking lot.

"Have you decided on a date yet?" Toshiro asked, knowing full well that Rukia loved nothing more than to talk about her upcoming wedding.

"We have!" Rukia said with a smile. "April of next year. The exact weekend will depend on when the venue is free."

Toshiro nodded. "A spring wedding. How lovely."

"Plus it gives me enough time to fully plan this wedding without having to strangle someone," Rukia said with a giggle.

"I don't know how you deal with all of it. Weddings are so much work."

"Oh hush. When it's your wedding I doubt you'll feel that way."

"I'll never settle do-" Toshiro froze. A frown crossed his face as he realized that he had instinctley answered Rukia's comment about his future with his usual retort. For years, Toshiro had always claimed that he was destined to be a bachelor forever and was in a committed relationship with his research. Now, he couldn't say the same with confidence, at least not without a pair of large brown eyes popping up in the back of his mind.

"Damn," Rukia said, watching Toshiro's face as he processed the onslaught of inner emotions. "You've got it bad."

"Whatever," Toshiro said, blushing slightly.

"You didn't try and argue with me. You DO have it bad," Rukia said with a smirk. "She's been working in your lab for what- Seven weeks and she's got you wrapped around her little finger."

"I'm not wrapped around her finger," Toshiro defended. "And it doesn't matter much anyway. In three weeks she will be moving to a lab more suited for her studies."

"That sucks."

"Yes," Toshiro said with a sigh. "Yes it does. Plus that means Matsumoto will be back and lord knows that woman drives me crazy."

"You know what I would do?" Rukia said as she unlocked her car.

"What?"

"I would spend time with her. I would make sure that she knew how crazy you are about her so that she has a reason to visit you after you are no longer her boss," Rukia winked at him and got into her car. Before she drove off, she rolled down her window and called out to Toshiro who had been making his way to his own vehicle. "You'll thank me!"

Toshiro watched as Rukia drove away. He was both grateful and annoyed at all the information she had supplied him with. The information regarding Aizen had been informative, but only about the case. It had very little to do with Momo. Toshiro sighed. He knew that he would have to admit defeat and just accept that fact that Momo was emotionally distraught because her family friend was being prosecuted. Yes, he would simply let the issue go and continue to support her as best he could. Maybe in a few weeks, if things continued to progress how they did, she would open up to him. Until then he could wait.

Toshiro did not realize he was driving to Momo's apartment complex until he pulled up in the parking lot. He looked up and found the light on in her unit. Clearly someone was home. He sighed and decided to take Rukia's advice.

Knock, knock, knock.

"Coming!"

Toshiro's stomach whirled as he realized the voice belonged to Momo. Soon, the door flew open, revealing his young grad student dressed in nothing but an old concert t-shirt and spandex.

He could not stop the bright red color that spread across his cheeks.

"Wha- Toshiro? Hi?" Momo said, clearly trying to figure out why he was on her doorstep. "I'm sorry I didn't know you were coming."

"I didn't know I was either," he answered honestly.

"Well, you can, um, come in," Momo said. Toshiro followed her inside the apartment. She turned to him. "So do you need something? I'm sorry, I just didn't expect you."

"I-I uh," Toshiro stuttered. He had not worked out an excuse for why he had arrived unannounced at her doorstep. Finally, he sighed and figured it was best to be honest. "I just… wanted to see you."

At this, Momo smiled softly at him. "Oh, well, come on in."

They entered the living room to find it a mess. Stacks and stacks of books, folder and notebooks littered the floor. Momo smiled at Toshiro sheepishly. "Nanao's cleaning out her desk and decided to put everything in the living room. We can go to my room. There's nowhere to sit in here anyway."

"Where is Nanao?" Toshiro asked.

"School. She took a summer class both sessions and this one happened to be a night class. That girl. She will graduate with a double major and a minor."

"Impressive."

"Right?" Momo said as she lead him down the hall. They stopped at a door that was plain with the exception of a wooden "M" painted bright yellow. "This is me."

They stepped in Momo's room. Toshiro found it to be simple, clean and very cute. Momo's queen sized bed took up the majority of the room. Her white comforter was accented with bright yellow pillows that cluttered the top of the bed. Why anyone would need so many, Toshiro would never know. Her desk was right by the window. The rest of her walls were filled with shelves and shelves of books.

"Wow, you have a lot of books," Toshiro said simply.

"My parents do own a bookstore," Momo plopped down on her bed and patted besides her, beckoning for Toshiro to join her. "And I do love books."

Toshiro sat besides Momo. The tension in the room had been building. Though it was not an uncomfortable tension, it was clear to see that Momo was thinking the exact same thought as Toshiro himself.

He was on a bed in the same room as the girl he was currently crazy about.

Last time this happened, he thought she wasn't interested. Now that he knew she was, his heart couldn't stop racing.

"So, you just came to hang out?" Momo said. "I wish the living room was clean. We could have watched a movie. I mean, if you want we could always watch one in here on my laptop."

"No, it's-it's okay," Toshiro said. "I'm just… I'm sorry I barged in here. I was talking to Rukia about her law stuff and then we started talking about personal stuff and then you came up and we were talking about you and she said I should follow my guts so I did and now I'm here and now I'm rambling so I'll shut up before I embarrass myself."

At this, Momo blushed. "You aren't embarrassing yourself. Coming here just because you want to see me? I find it rather cute."

"Well, I guess that's a good thing." Toshiro racked his brain to try and find another topic of conversation. When his mind went blank, he found Momo staring at him.

"What is it?" Momo asked.

"Just- just what are you doing to me?"

Both of them were surprised with the brazen honesty of Toshiro's question.

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"Two months ago, you were nothing more than a name on a piece of paper that I agreed to mentor for the summer. Now? Now I find myself driving to your place because I miss you even though four hours ago we were together. I find my heart pounding being in the same room with you despite the fact that every day in lab, we are within ten feet of each other. I just..." Toshiro ran his hands through his hair and sighed. "You've just wormed your way into my heart and I don't know why or how. I just know I don't want it to stop."

After his honest confession, Toshiro sat there staring at Momo. His heart was pounding as he tried to register any sort of reaction from her. His face was hot, his palms were sweating and his mouth felt dry.

On her part, she merely bit her bottom lip, though she did not break eye contact.

"It's okay," she muttered softly. "I don't know what you are doing to me either."

Toshiro knew there was no better moment than this and leaned forward to envelope Momo in a deep, deep kiss. She responded to him and wrapped her arm around his neck and she allowed his tongue to enter her mouth.

Without breaking their passionate kiss, Toshiro laid her down on the bed and slowly began to run his hands up and down her sides. Momo moaned as he lifted the bottom of her shirt to slide his hands along his flat stomach, before Toshiro took off her shirt all together, leaving Momo in her nothing but her bra and spandex.

Toshiro's lips left Momo's and began to work their way down her neck. He nibbled on her ear as his hands slipped underneath her bra to play with her breasts. Momo eagerly responded and pulled him closer before she grabbed the ends of his polo and took it off him.

Momo ran her hands up and down his newly exposed chest as Toshiro returned his lips to her mouth, kissing her passionately. He took her bottom lip in between his own, sucking on it as though it was a delectable treat. Soon, he unclipped her bra and tossed it aside. Toshiro could feel the heat build in his pants as he observed Momo laying underneath him topless, breathless and eager for his touch. He kissed her once more on the lips before moving his mouth to her breasts, taking one of her nipples in his mouth.

At this, Momo bucked underneath him, grabbing his hair in pure pleasure. She moaned as he sucked and gently bit the delicate flesh of her breasts. As he continued to do so, his hands found their way down to her spandex and he began to trace his hands along the edge of her pants. Momo let out a long, drawn out moan as Toshiro's hand swept over her clothed center.

Reluctantly, Toshiro parted with Momo's breasts and sat up slightly. He hooked two fingers on either side of Momo's pants before pulling them down and off her, leaving her with only a see-through lace thong on. The sight sent Toshiro's head spinning as his member continued to harden.

"My god," Toshiro breathed in her ear as he returned to kiss her neck. "You're so beautiful."

Before Momo could reply, she let out a small squeal. Toshiro had taken the opportunity to dip a finger into her. He began to work his finger inside Momo, eventually adding another two. On her part, Momo gripped the sheets and moaned, overwhelmed by the sensation of Toshiro's kisses and hand.

Toshiro continued his ministrations slowly, allowing Momo to be slowly driven to an intense pleasure. When it began too much to bare, Momo wrapped a hand behind his neck and whispered in his ear, "please, oh please Toshiro."

Toshiro smiled against her collarbone as he continued to work his fingers. After Momo let out a rather lustful moan, Toshiro stopped his hand.

"Why-why did you stop?" Momo asked almost pained. Momo began to sit up when Toshiro placed a hand on her chest, slowly pushing her back down.

"Relax," Toshiro said as he removed her underwear, leaving her fully exposed to him. He shifted down to the edge of the bed and slowly parted her legs, revealing himself to her. "Just relax."

Relaxing was the last thing on Momo's mind as Toshiro's tongue made contact with her wet center. She moaned and jerked as he moved his tongue skillfully over her clit, slowly working her towards release. Egging him on, Momo grabbed fists of his hair and continued to moan and beg him to continue.

He continued swirling his tongue against her clit when Momo let out a scream as Toshiro took her over the edge. He lapped her dry of her juices as she neared the end of her orgasm.

He wanted everyone to know that she was his. He decided right then and there. He was going to make her his and take her as his own.

He brought his lips up to Momo's ear as she lay there, recovering from her orgasm. "I want you, Momo. I want you so much and if you let me, I'll take you right here, right now."

Momo moaned at the sensation of him nibbling her earlobe. She soon moved away to kiss her way up his own neck before finding his ear and replying, "I'm all yours to take."

Toshiro quickly took off his belt and his pants, leaving him in just his boxers. It was apparent that he was more than ready for Momo. She reached out a hand and gently grasped his erection, eliciting a hiss from Toshiro. He rolled his eyes as Momo removed his underwear, freeing his member.

She looked at it and then calmly told toshiro, "there's condoms in the nightstand drawer."

Toshiro nodded, got one out and put it on. He resumed his former position over Momo before whispering. "Are you sure?"

"I want you," was all Momo said.

Toshiro nodded, kissed Momo and slide himself inside her. Momo moaned as he entered her. He begun a steady rhythm that made Momo moan with sheer pleasure.

Momo instinctively wrapped her legs around Toshiro's waist, pulling him closer as he continued to thrust inside her.

"Ah, Toshiro, yes. Yes!" Momo moaned.

Hearing her lust filled pleas, Toshiro answered her, going harder and harder. As he continued to pound into her, he buried his face in his bare shoulder. He was overwhelmed by the feeling of being deep inside the Momo. His hands gripped the sheets tightly as he increases his pace, causing Momo to let out a long, drawn out moan.

He could tell she was close. Her hands began to wrap themselves in his hair, her breath was staggered and her back was slowly arching as Toshiro continued to increase both the speed and force of his thrusts.

"Toshiro- ah! Oh, yes!" Momo called out as she hit her climax.

It was too much for Toshiro. The feel of Momo's walls pulsing around his member sent him over the edge and he came hard and fast.

The two lay there, panting and recovering, in silence, enjoying the struggled breaths of each other. After a while, Toshiro moved off of Momo, eliciting a long groan as he slid out of her. He lay next to her and turned to face her.

"Momo," he said gently as he moved a piece of hair to tuck it behind her ear.

"Shiro."

"Now what?"

Momo knew what he was asking. Now what were they? Where they still in the early terms of dating or did this sacred act secure them as an item... or perhaps even a couple?

Instead of addressing the question, Momo decided to let the moment last as long as possible.

"Now, we should do it again," Momo said as she wrapped her arms around Toshiro's neck to pull him in for a kiss.

Toshiro couldn't argue with logic like that.


	20. Chapter 20

Knock, knock, knock!

Shuhei answered the door to find Nanao in the hallway, her book bag still slung along one side of her body. In her arms, she held a textbook and a few notebooks. "Can I come in?" She asked, clearly annoyed.

"Um… yeah of course," Shuhei said as Nanao walked into his apartment. "But may I ask why? Not that I mind you coming over, of course."

"I just can't be home right now," Nanao said as she sat down on the couch. "I come home from class to nothing more than the overwhelmingly loud sounds of Momo and her professor doing god knows what in her room."

"Dammmmmmn," Shuhei said, a large smirk on his face. "Go Momo."

"I just don't want to listen to it," Nanao said.

"Listen to what?" The two turned to see Kira emerging from the hallway.

"Momo and her professor," Shuhei said, the smirk still on his face. "Apparently they are getting it on. About time."

At these words, Kira grimaced slightly. He managed to recover quickly and the action went unnoticed by either Nanao or Shuhei.

"Interesting," was all he could say.

"I think this is good for her," Nanao supplied. "He seems to genuinely like her and let's be real, Momo dates the worst men."

"I know what you are talking about and they never dated," Kira said with a scowl. "Momo may have thought so, but that was for sure a one-sided arrangement."

"Oh absolutely," Nanao said. "But still, I think Doctor Hitsugaya actually cares for Momo."

"Of course he does. Who wouldn't? She's a sweetheart," Shuhei said. He turned to Nanao. "Has she said anything about her budding romance?"

"She will now," Nanao said with a smirk.

Of all the emotions running through Momo Hinamori's mind when she woke up, the predominate one, she decided, was anxiety. After a rather... eventful evening, Momo could not help but be a bit nervous for work the next morning.

It's not because she had regretted the nights actions. Oh no. Long after they had finished, they had laid in her bed talking about anything and everything. She had asked him to stay the night, but he reluctantly declined. Hyorinmaru was at home waiting to be fed and Momo could not argue with that logic.

Momo sat down with her breakfast and opened up the email on her phone. Her heart quickly dropped as she saw one particular email. How she was going to tell Toshiro was beyond her and her entire walk to the university was plagued with this thought. the news wasn't bad... but it would upset Toshiro nonetheless.

Momo arrived promptly on time and greeted Toshiro. He looked up at her, a large smile on his face, but he quickly noted that Momo seemed distant. Worry immediately overtook him. Perhaps she felt guilty or regretted their actions the night before.

He had no regret and the thought of Momo regretting their actions made his heart sink.

He swallowed and decided the best option was just to ask her. "What's up Momo? Something on your mind? Or is something wrong?"

Momo shook her head softly and gave Toshiro a meek smile as she pulled her stool over to Toshiro's work station before taking a seat. "It's nothing you did. I promise. It can't be you, you've been to wonderful. It's just, I received an email today from Doctor Kyoraku."

"And?" Toshiro said, unable to hide his relief.

"And... I got my information for the school year."

At this, Toshiro understood Momo's silence. She had finally been reassigned to a new, permanent professor who was not him. His heart sank as he realized that his time with the young grad student was growing limited to four short weeks.

"Oh," was all he could say. He was honestly just as surprised. Though he knew Momo would always stop working in his lab, he had not anticipated how sad he would be upon thinking about it. Yesterday's events only amplified his feelings.

"His name is Professor Shinji Hirako," Momo said simply. "I haven't had time to goggle him yet, but I will. I'm not going to make the mistake of not knowing who I'm working for this time."

A smile fondly fell on Toshiro's face as he recalled the first time he had met Momo. She had fallen to the floor, flustered by his sudden comments, and had assumed that he was just another grad student like herself. Ah, those were the days.

Though frankly, after yesterday he much prefered the context of their relationship now.

"When do you begin to work with him?" Toshiro asked.

"A few days before school starts," Momo said with a soft smile. "So don't worry. I'm not going anywhere yet."

Yet being the key word, Toshiro thought to himself. Nevertheless, he did not want Momo to think he was bothered by her eventual departure. After all, it was for the best that she join someone with research similar to her own.

"Good," Toshiro said as he leaned over and placed a sweet but simply kiss on Momo's lips. "I was worried it was something I did."

"Oh no," Momo said as a small blush spread across her cheeks. "It's not you."

Toshiro smiled back. "Well, I'm glad." He then swallowed as he noticed the sexual tension rising in the air. "Well, time to get to work."

Working with a beautiful young girl a mere day after sleeping with her proved to be the ultimate distraction for Toshiro. Momo's presence in the lab already brought him countless distractions. Now, it was much worse. He could not blink without imagine the feel of Momo's soft skin, the feel of her as she squirmed underneath him, her taste. Toshiro was glad that Momo was deep into her work, otherwise he was sure she would notice the uncomfortable shifts of him in his seat as he tried to return his focus back on his research. Eventually, Toshiro knew there was no focusing for the day and looked up at Momo.

"Care to join me for lunch today?"

This was the first time in their budding relationship that Toshiro had asked Momo to join him for lunch.

"Sure," she said with a smile. "Let me text Kira that I won't be joining him today."

Toshiro nodded and allowed Momo to finish up her work at her station before the two of them hung up their lab coats and left the lab.

"I pack my lunch," Momo said. "So I can just accompany you anywhere."

"Oh, it's my treat," Toshiro said with a smile.

"Oh no, I don't want to waste this lunch," Momo said stubbornly.

Toshiro snorted. "Save it for tomorrow. I'll treat you."

At this point, Momo knew there was no more arguing. Toshiro had obviously made up his mind. She sighed, collected her book bag and followed him out the door and to the small collection of shops located a bit further down campus. Halfway there, Momo blushed as Toshiro bravely grabbed her hand for everyone to see that they were an officially an item. Perhaps they had yet to become a couple, but there was for something there, that was for sure.

After grabbing a pair of sandwiches from one of the shops, the two sat down and began to enjoy their meal. A few minutes in, a loud voice rang out.

"Toshiro!"

The pair turned to see an old man with a long white beard dressed in an expensive-looking suit coming toward them. At hearing his name, Toshiro stood up, adjusted the collar of his polo and put on an uncharacteristically warm smile.

"Why President Yamamoto. What a surprise to see you out and about this afternoon," Toshiro said.

At these words, Momo's heart started racing. Yamamoto was the president of the university. Though Momo had never seen him in person, she had heard of him countless times. Now here he was standing in front of her as she ate lunch with her boss/kind-of boyfriend. She swallowed with nervous energy.

"Toshiro," Yamamoto answered back. "I like to come down every now and then. Get away from the meetings. How is your research?"

"It's going. I'm getting consistent results. Now all I need to do is figure out why the math doesn't match."

"That's always the worst," the old man said with a smile. Then it seemed to dawn on him that the two men were not alone. "And who is this young lady here?"

"This is Momo," Toshiro said as casually as he could. "She works in my lab."

At this, Yamamoto raised an eyebrow and glanced from Momo to Toshiro back to Momo. "Ah. I see. Well, I hope he treats you well... both in and out of the lab."

"Oh he does," Momo said, her voice coming out with a squeak. As soon as she answered, her face flushed red and she averted eye contact.

"Well," Yamamoto said, his attention returning to the now-anxious Toshiro. "I don't have to say be careful. I know you know better than to do something stupid. I'll leave you to enjoy the rest of you lunch date. Keep up the excellent research, Toshiro. You make our university proud." With that, Yamamoto left the two to stand in an awkward silence.

"How did he know?" Momo said shyly once Yamamoto was far enough out of earshot.

Toshiro shrugged. "News travels fast I guess."

"Yeah, well, I don't see why people are so interested. We aren't even a couple."

At this, Toshiro turned to face Momo. "Yes, but people still talk. There's obviously something between us. You could be blind and be able to figure that out."

"I'm not going to get you in trouble will I?" Momo said with a frown.

"No. Why would you?"

"I just- I... Idk." Momo said. "I know it's fine, but this whole dating-your-superior thing feels like a trap."

"I make you feel stuck in a trap?" Toshiro said, clearly concerned.

"No," Momo said. "It's just the situation... you know, never mind. Let's enjoy this lunch."

Toshiro could tell Momo wanted to drop the subject and decided to let it go for now. The two ate the rest of their lunch making cheerful small talk. At the end of an hour, they returned back to the lab and begun their tasks once again.

As with before lunch, all Toshiro could focus on was the dream he had had the day before. With Momo standing a few feet away from him and dressed in her lab coat, he could not help but stare.

It did not help that Momo was deep in concentration, focusing on her assignment responsibilities. She was unknowingly biting her bottom lip as she pondered her work. Sometimes, her head would tilt to the side as she contemplated the results of her research.

Soon, Toshiro could not take it anymore. "Momo, Momo, Momo," Toshiro said as he made his way over to where Momo was at. "What am I going to do with you?"

"What do you mean?" Momo whispered, clearly mesmerized by the look Toshiro was giving her.

"I may be a genius, but I am human," Toshiro said. "And, as a man I can't help but notice you looking so... Irresistible."

"Oh," was all Momo could reply before Toshiro kissed her full on the mouth. Eager to deepen the kiss, Momo wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in closer.

By now, the deep desire both of them had built up emerged, transforming the kiss from one of passion to one of lust. As the kiss progressed from gentle and full of compassion to one full of want, Toshiro picked Momo up and placed her on the counter so he did not have to bend down.

He continued to kiss her, working his tongue into her mouth. His kisses were soon hungry, even greedy, as their two tongues fought for dominance. He pulled away from the kiss, sucking one last time on her bottom lip, and began to work his tongue and lips down her neck. Toshiro had decided early on that the soft skin of her neck and the low moans she made when he nipped and sucked there were his favorite. He kissed her neck, moving up and down her collarbone, before returning to the spot where her hickey from Saturday was fading and bit down again to darken the mark.

At hearing this, Toshiro recaptured her lips with more enthusiasm. His kisses grew deeper and more passionate as he began to unbutton her lab coat. He could feel the tension growing in his pants as images of his earlier dream a few days before flooded his mind.

His dream could become reality.

Toshiro was so occupied with removing Momo's lab coat that he did not notice that her nimble fingers had removed his as well and we're currently working on untucking his polo shirt from his pants. As soon as his shirt was off, Momo ran her hands up and down his sculpted chest, sending shivers down his spine.

With her lab coat off, Toshiro ripped away Momo's shirt, eager to expose her torso. He pulled away for a second to admire her exposed self. His eyes were drawn to her breasts as he reached out to grab them.

Momo moaned at the sensation of Toshiro massaging her breast. Soon, he took off her bra, exposing her nipples to him. Momo let out a gasp, throwing her head back, as he encased one of her breast in his mouth and began to suck. As he continued, Momo wrapped her hands in his hair, urging him on.

"Toshiro," she moaned, her voice dripping with lust. "Toshiro please."

His hands began to travel down between Momo's thighs and he slowly slipped one hand up her skirt. It traced Momo's lace panties and Toshiro's member stiffened as he felt how wet she was for him. Toshiro stopped sucking her breast and moved up to her face. His hot breath tickled her neck as he whispered into her ear. "Tell me, Momo. Just what would you like me to do?"

"Toshiro- ah- please," Momo moaned. She could barely make any rational thought as Toshiro slipped a single finger underneath her panties and across the surface of her wet folds.

"Tell me Momo. Tell me exactly what to do." Toshiro said, sipping his finger inside her. He smiled as she visibly squirmed as he began to slowly pump his finger in and out of her body before adding another.

"I want you to have me," Momo moaned as Toshiro continued to work his fingers. "Please. Right now. On this counter."

At these words, Toshiro added a third finger and began to rub his thumb against Momo's swollen clit. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and he could feel her hands grip his shoulder with desperation as she threw back her head and let out a cry. "There! Right there!"

"Come for me," Toshiro said as he continued to work his fingers. "Come for me, Momo."

Toshiro returned his attention to Momo's breasts, biting down on one. This sensation proved too much for Momo and she let out a cry. Toshiro could feel Momo's center pulsating as she came and his own desire grew stronger. As Momo gasped from her orgasm, Toshiro slipped her panties down her legs, exposing her to him. With fumbling fingers, Toshiro unzipped his pants, pulling out his aching member.

Yesterday, if you had told Toshiro Hitsugaya that he was about to fuck his young grad student on the countertop of his lab, he would have told said you were delusional.

Now, Toshiro could not believe his luck as Momo sat there, legs spread and eyes staring, eager for him to make his move. With one motion, he moved her body to the edge of the counter and slammed into her with all the force he could muster.

Momo screamed as Toshiro penetrated her. Toshiro closed his eyes, allowing himself to take in the feeling of Momo's heat enveloping him, before he started to move.

Momo wrapped her arms around his neck and he settled into a steady rhythm that made her groan with satisfaction. She kissed his neck, collarbone and ear and began to pick up speed. "Faster. Oh, Toshiro. Faster!"

Toshiro obeyed and buried his face in Momo's shoulder as his paced quickened. Soon, he pulled out all the way, before slamming completely into Momo. She screamed as he repeated this over and over again.

Toshiro then grabbed her leg with his hand as he threw it over her shoulder, pushing Momo's bare back against the cold surface of the counter. She moaned and he took her breasts in his mouth once again and quickened his thrusts to a maddening pace. With a free hand, he moved to stimulate Momo's clit, sending her into visible waves of pleasure.

"Shiro! Ah! Shiro I'm- I'm-," Momo did not finish as a scream erupted from her throat, signaling her release.

But Toshiro was far from done. Putting his arms around Momo, he pulled her onto her feet and rearranged himself so that he was behind her. As soon as she calmed down from her first orgasm, he entered her from behind, holding onto her hips as he drove himself deeper and deeper. Momo three her head back at the sensation of toshiro a thrusts from this new and incredibly tight position.

"Right there! Right... There," Momo said with a moan as Toshiro continued to pound into her from behind.

Soon, Toshiro could feel Momo's second orgasm build up. Clenching his teeth, he drove into her with more force and speed than before. Momo grabbed onto the edge of the counter for support as she begun to shake from the accumulation of toshiro a thrusts.

"Harder!" Momo screamed as Toshiro listened to her commands. "Harder! Harder! AH!"

Momo came for the second time that session as she collapsed against the counter. If it wasn't for Toshiro's strong hands on her hips, she would have fallen to the floor in exhaustion.

Toshiro nearly lost his footing as he felt Momo's hot center clench around his member. He continued to pump into her as fast and hard as he possibly could until, moments before he came, he pulled out and finished, his cum spraying across her back.

"So-sorry," Toshiro panted. "I didn't want to risk it just in case. You know, no condoms."

Momo nodded, too tired to speak. After a while, she answered. "For next time, just know I'm on birth control."

Toshiro felt his stomach twist as she muttered the phrase "next time".

The two slowly begun to move, clean up and get dressed. Once they were semi-presentable, Toshiro looked at Momo. "So..."

She blushed. "So?"

"Does this mean we are, you know, official?"

"Are you asking me to be your girlfriend?" Momo said boldly.

"We just had sex. On the counter. In my laboratory. Of course I'm asking you to be my girlfriend."

"Isn't that moving a little fast?" Momo asked.

"Yes." Toshiro answered before he could fully think about her question, knowing that the faster he answered the less time he would have to overthink his reply.

Momo walked over to Toshiro and placed a kiss on his lips. "Then I say yes," she replied. "But next time, I'm on top."

With comments like that, she was going to be the death of him.

A/N: I'm trying to write and update with some regularity, but school and swim had made me so tired. We started preseason for our season which begins in October. So I will try really really hard to update soon. Please leave me a review. Maybe it will motivate me:)


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: So I'm back! I just got a brand new laptop that functions as a tablet as well, so I'm super excited to finally type. I hated my old desktop computer and never used it… most of my updates were previously written off my phone. So here is another chapter for you. Please read and review :)

"You did _what_ _where?"_ Ichigo asked Toshiro, his eyes wide in disbelief.

"We had sex. In my lab. On the counter," Toshiro responded back. He could barely hide the smirk that danced across his lips.

"I still don't truly... I mean... Bro you don't even let me bring food inside when I visit you," Ichigo said.

"No food in the lab. That's just gross."

"Oh, but a naked grad student is okay?" Ichigo said as he cocked an eyebrow.

"She wasn't naked," Toshiro said.

"Still. Your Doctor Hitsugaya, the single most strict person I know and all it takes it the right girl to make you completely forget your love of the rules," Ichigo said.

"My lab, my rules."

Ichigo had known something was up the moment Toshiro has strolled into the gym with an unmistakably smug look on his face. It only took a few questions before Toshiro had told Ichigo of his earlier encounter with Momo in the lab as well as the new development in their relationship.

On his part, Ichigo was ecstatic. Personally, he had always thought that a good lay and a great girl were all Toshiro needed to relax a bit. The recent weeks had proved his theory to be correct. Toshiro's frosted mannerisms were disappearing, slowly replaced with witty jokes and small smiles. Ichigo would never admit it aloud, but he preferred this happier version of Toshiro to the old icey one.

"Well... I'm glad everything is going well again," Ichigo said as the two continued their workout.

"Again... yeah," Toshiro said.

"Mhmmmmm," Toshiro sighed as he pulled Momo closer to him. The two were wrapped up in his sheets, exhausted from their earlier activities of the night.

"What is it?" Momo asked as she turned in Toshiro's arms to face him.

"Nothing," Toshiro said as he buried his face in the warmth of Momo's neck. "I was just thinking about how great it is to just be with you."

It had been two weeks since their steamy encounter in the laboratory solidified their relationship. Although there had been no more incidents in the lab, outside of work the two had been virtually inseparable.

"Well, you don't have to hug me so tightly," Momo said, half joking and half serious. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Whatever," Toshiro said as he kissed Momo on the forehead.

"And we should really be getting to bed. We have to be in the lab early tomorrow."

"It's my lab, I can show up when I want," Toshiro retorted. He was thoroughly enjoying himself and had no intentions of ending the night early.

"Yes but I can't," Momo argued. "I have three weeks left in your lab and I would like to tie up the research I've been conducting there before I go."

This response elicited a long moan from Toshiro. He propped himself up on his elbows before turning to Momo. "Please don't remind me of how little time I have left with you."

"Oh stop being so dramatic," Momo said as she playfully hit him on the shoulder. "I'll be in a lab a floor or two above yours and you will still see me all the time after work."

"Yes but I like how it is now when I can see you whenever I want, even at work," Toshiro said with a smile. He reached out to pull Momo closer to him. "I'm going to miss having you in the lab."

"We still have three weeks left. Calm down. Besides, remember when you thought of me as nothing more than a nuisance?" Momo teased with a soft smile.

"You were never a nuisance," Toshiro said softly. "It was simply a bit of a challenge to find a way to incorporate you in my line of work, but if I must say so, you have done an admirable job."

"And I will continue to do so for the next three weeks," Momo said as she slightly shifted in Toshiro's arms. "But for this to happen we need to go to sleep."

"Sleep?" Toshiro said as he began to kiss Momo's neck. His lips curled in a soft smile as he watched her shiver under his touch. "How can I sleep with you right here and so vulnerable at that?"

It took all of Momo's self control to place her hand on Toshiro's chin to stop his lips from continuing their exploration of his neck. "You'll have to manage. Please, it's time to sleep? And didn't you have your fill of this earlier?"

"I'll never have enough of you," Toshiro said frankly. Despite his words, he gave into Momo and began to settle down into the sheets of his bed. "But, it seems you have had enough of me."

Momo looked at him crossly before breaking out into a gentle smile. "Oh shut up, you melodramatic fool." She leaned in and gave him a sweet kiss on the lips before nestling up against him. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight my dear," Toshiro replied as he wrapped an arm gently around Momo. "Sweet dreams."

Momo found that dating Toshiro Hitsugaya, PhD, was both incredibly overwhelming and underwhelming. At the University, she found it harder than ever to escape his outstanding reputation. Fellow colleagues would praise him incessantly for his hard work, sharp mind and strict regard for ethics. He was well respected by his peers and admired by his students. Those who found out that she had somehow secured a way into his lab for the summer- not to mention his heart- did not stop to remind her to take full advantage of the opportunity her acquaintance with one of the most brilliant minds at the university provided.

On the other hand, it continued to surprise Momo how ordinarily average the acclaimed genius was in real life. For one thing, Toshiro was as standard a guy as can be. His wardrobe consisted of Polos and work out shirts. He spent his nights on ESPN and he went to the gym with the utmost regularity. If it wasn't for his academic credentials, Momo would never had guess that he was a genius. In some ways, Momo was thankful for this. Although she had always been bright and received good grades, Toshiro's genius slightly intimidated her, even after they began dating. To see him live his life as an average guy made her smile.

Yes indeed, Momo thought one afternoon as she sat under a tree in the park watching Toshiro play fetch with Hyorinmaru, she sure was a lucky girl.


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: I did it! I told myself I had to update today and I did! Sorry for the wait. Life's been hectic. Anyway here's an update. Enjoy and let me know what you think!

"Well, that's the last of it."

Toshiro looked up from his desk to see Momo standing in the hallway carrying a small plastic container. She had spent the better half of the morning collecting her stuff scattered around his office and his lab, much to his dismay. With a slight frown, Toshiro addressed her. "You sure you have everything?"

Momo nodded. "Everything I need at least."

It was Momo's last official day as Toshiro's stand-in grad student. Tomorrow, Toshiro's typical assistant would return and Momo would be given two weeks off before starting her new research under Dr Hirako.

Toshiro had mixed feelings about Momo's departure from his lab. On one part, he would miss her constant presence at work and the carefree distractions her upbeat personality brought each and every day. He would miss simply looking across the workbench and getting to see her beautiful face as she carefully focused on the task at hand.

On the other hand, he was very much eager for her to officially be under another Professor. It would mean less sneaking around for the two of them, as their personal relationship would be less of a distraction. Toshiro rarely crossed paths with Professor Shinji, so being involved with his grad student would not be taken in the same way as when Momo was studying under him. Although they would not be able to flaunt their new relationship, they would be able to finally show up to work together, leave together and have lunch together under the pretense that it was more than just convenience that they eat together so that they could discuss work.

Still, Toshiro thought with a sigh. It was nice to always have Momo around him. Yes, he would indeed miss it.

In the few short weeks since establishing their relationship, Toshiro could not have been happier. While letting the young grad student into his heart had been entirely unplanned, it was not something he regretted in the least.

"Well," Toshiro said. "If you think you have everything, here's the keys to my car. You can put your stuff in the backseat. I can drive you home after lunch."

Momo nodded walked over to the desk where Toshiro held out his keys. With her free hand, she grabbed them. "I'll be back."

"And I'll be here finishing this paperwork," Toshiro responded. He heard the door close as Momo left to put her stuff in his car. His attention turned back to his paperwork, but was soon interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Yes?" He asked. He was not expecting any visitors and thought that perhaps Momo had forgotten something and had to come back.

A loud, ringing voice called out in response, instantly identifying the unknown visitor. "Professor! I'm baaaaack!"

Toshiro groaned and placed his forehead in his hands, massaging his temples. "I guess you can come in. I'm just doing paperwork."

At this, the door flew open to reveal a tall, voluptuous redhead. She stood proud in the doorway, beaming at the young professor sitting at his desk and before Toshiro could prepare, she enveloped him in a suffocating hug.

"Oh Professor! It's been so long! Did you miss me? Of course you did! How sweet of you!" She said as she continued to hug him.

"Rangiku, while I'm glad you're back, please stop suffocating me," Toshiro said.

"Oh! Right!" Rangiku said as she let go of her professor. "Sorry. I forgot how little you are."

Toshiro could feel a vein in his forehead throb at this comment, but quickly shrugged it off. "I thought you weren't supposed to come in until tomorrow."

"Oh I know," Rangiku said as she twirled her long red hair in her hands. "Don't think I'm going to work today. I just wanted to drop in and say hi. Inquire how your summer has been without me."

"It's been fine," Toshiro said. "I can manage to hold down my lab without you."

"Still. You're usually lost without me."

"How? You hardly work half the time anyway. You're always off socializing."

"Oh don't be such a buzz kill," Rangiku said with a wave of her hand. "But really. How has your summer been?"

Before Toshiro could answer, the door flew open. "Toshiro, I'm back! Are you done so we can go to lun-" Momo stopped at the sight of Rangiku.

Rangiku beat Toshiro to the introduction as she stood up to shake Momo's hand. "Oh, hello. I'm Rangiku Matsumoto, Toshiro's grad assistant." She turned to Toshiro. "Professor, who is this pretty little thing?"

Toshiro could not stop his face from flushing a deep shade of crimson. Trying to keep his tone as neutral as possible, he answered. "This is Momo Hinamori. She has been working with me in the lab while you have been away."

"Nice to meet you," Momo said timidly as she shook Rangiku's extended hand. "I've heard a lot about you."

"All good things, I hope!" Rangiku said as she continued to give Toshiro a knowing look. "But really, I'd love to know all about _you_."

Toshiro stood up and shook his head at her words. The last thing he needed was Rangiku to interrogate his new girlfriend. "That won't be necessary. Momo, do you mind going and doing a quick clean up of the lab for me? I have some things to discuss with Matsumoto here."

Momo nodded. "Of course."

Toshiro was thankful that Momo seemed to have read his thoughts. In reality, she had cleaned the lab earlier that morning, but Toshiro figured that if the three of them stayed in his office, things were to get awkward. The look Matsumoto was giving him suggested that she understood the relationship between Toshiro and his summer grad student- or at least she understood Toshiro's feelings towards Momo.

As soon as Momo left, Rangiku turned her attention back to Toshiro. "You dog."

"I have no idea what you are talking about," Toshiro said casually as he suddenly became very interested in resuming his paperwork.

Across his desk, Rangiku rolled her eyes. "Oh don't give me that. You slept with her."

Toshiro stopped writing and looked up at Rangiku, his expression giving the truth away. "How do you know that? You met her for all of a minute."

"Ha!" Rangiku said gleefully. "So you did! And please Professor. A blind man could see the way you look at her. Plus, you called her Momo. I've worked under you since you began your residence here and you still only call me Matsumoto. So tell me, how was it."

"Matsumoto, don't interrogate me on my sex life."

"I'm just trying to catch up. I'm gone for a little over two months and my celibate professor gets laid. Excuse me for being curious."

"I was never celibate!"

"Mhm sure," Rangiku said. "So, really. How long has this been going on for?"

"I- I," Toshiro sighed, knowing he had been beat. "A few weeks. It's a rather recent development and I would prefer you don't scare her away with your antics."

"I won't scare her away," Rangiku said. "Not if she seems to be that important to you. I'll say, I'm impressed Professor. She's quite pretty."

"Yeah she is," Toshiro said, his voice more passionate that he intended. Snapping out of it, he turned to Rangiku again. "But I'm serious, Matsumoto. Be nice."

"I will be," Rangiku said. "I'm just glad you found yourself a nice girl. How far along is your... relationship."

"It's official," to Toshiro said. He did not realize how good the words felt until he said them out loud. "It's official. We are official."

"Oh, how cute!" Matsumoto said. "Does Granny like her?"

Toshiro's face fell. His entire body language changes suddenly and he seemed to slump down in his chair. As Matsumoto observed his change in attitude, she instantly became concerned.

"I forgot to tell you," Toshiro muttered quietly. "Granny passed in late June."

"Oh," Rangiku said, lost for words. "Oh, Professor I'm so sorry. I didn't know."

"That's okay. I forgot to tell you. And you weren't in town to see the obituary in the paper. It's not your fault you didn't know." Toshiro said with a sigh. "But I will say Granny approved of the thought of her. Seemed to like how she made me happy."

"So she does make you happy?" Rangiku said with a smile, internally glad that Toshiro seemed to be returning to his previous cheerful mood.

"She makes me incredibly happy," Toshiro said. "I don't want to jinx anything though."

"I get it. I'll stop questioning you." Rangiku said. "I'm just... honestly I've probably seen you smile more in the last ten minutes than you have in the last ten months. So if you're happy, I'm happy. Where will she work once school starts? With us?"

"Oh no," Toshiro said. "She will be with Doctor Hirako. He's relatively new and taking over the vacancy that Doctor Aizen created."

Rangiku nodded. "I forgot about all that drama. Ever find out what happened?"

"No, I wish." This was the understatement of the year, Toshiro thought to himself.

"Oh well," Rangiku said as she stood up. "Anyway, I just came in to say hi and it turned out to be a much more exciting visit than I expect! I should probably be going. I need to get some shopping in before you can start controlling my life tomorrow."

"I wouldn't have to control your life if you took work more seriously," Toshiro said dryly.

"Whatever," Rangiku said. "Have a nice day, Professor. And a nice night too." With a wink, she left Toshiro in his office.

After Rangiku left it truly hit him that Momo was no longer working under him. He decided with a sigh that this did in fact make him more sad than anything else. He stood up and left his office to go fetch Momo from his lab. If it was his last day as her boss, the least they could do was spend it together.


	23. Chapter 23

"So after we spent an _hour_ picking out silverware, she drags me to another section of the store. Guess what was next. Silverware. _Fucking silverware_. I didn't think that silverware mattered! Like who gives a damn what design is on the dessert spoon!"

Ichigo and Toshiro were currently seated at the table at their favorite sports bar. Ichigo was retelling the tale regarding his nightmare of a day. Rukia had dragged him along to all her various appointments regarding the wedding. The emotional trauma suffered by Ichigo was enough to call Toshiro and desperately invite him to the bar for wings and beer.

"At least you don't have to pay for the wedding," Toshiro said once Ichigo was done talking about his day. "Then you wouldn't be the only one miserable, your wallet would be too."

"True that," said Ichigo as he slung back another long drink of his beer. "That's Byakuya. You're good for at least that."

"I know I say this a lot, but I still can not believe he gave you permission to marry Rukia," Toshiro said.

"Me neither. I was half expecting to have to enlope. Oh well, I'm not going to question it. It sure makes my life easier. Kind of. Well, easier on days when I don't actually have to do anything involving wedding planning."

At this moment, both of their meals arrived. The two of them sat in silence for a handful of minutes as they both eagerly devoured their hot wings. Only after their hunger had been mildly tamed did Ichigo speak again.

"So Matsumoto is back?"

Toshiro nodded as he continued to eat his meal, careful to not get any of the hot sauce on his polo shirt. "Yeah. She came yesterday. God, I swear that woman drives me crazy. She had been in my office for a mere three minutes and she had already accused me of sleeping with Momo."

"That's not an accusation, that's just fact," Ichigo said with a smirk. To his satisfaction, Toshiro let out a large huff at this comment. "That woman knows you well. Better than me, if I dare to say so. But you can't say you didn't miss her."

Toshiro could not hide the truth from his face if he wanted too. In reality, he had missed the eccentric red head that kept his days full with her constant antics. "I did. But I'll miss having Momo in the lab."

"Yeah but I know you have been spending plenty of _quality_ time with her. You'll survive her reassignment."

"It's for the best after all," Toshiro said as he finished off the last wing and reached for a wet-wipe. "Less conflict of interest if she isn't in my lab."

"Do you know who she's working under?"

"Not well. I don't cross paths with him often," Toshiro said.

"Ha, better hope that he's not incredibly charming and good looking. Might steal her away."

At this, Toshiro glared at Ichigo, his expression changed to one of pure ice. "Ha. Ha."

"Calm it, it was just a joke," Ichigo said to Toshiro. "I prefer you keep Momo around. I like it when your happy. Now other people can deal with you on a daily basis. Not just me."

At this, Toshiro merely rolled his eyes. "So, you were telling me about the silverware. Should I expect the pattern to be modern or traditional?"

Ichigo immediately abandoned all thought concerning Toshiro and his relationship and quickly returned to his exasperated retelling of the day's wedding planning events.

* * *

Toshiro arrived outside of Momo's apartment promptly at seven. Straightening his collar, he knocked on the door. After a few seconds of muffled footsteps, the door opened to reveal Nanao.

"Hello Professor. Momo's stepped out to double check the mail. Why don't you come in until she gets back?" Nanao said as she stepped aside to allow Toshiro to enter the apartment.

"You know you don't have to call me Professor when we are not on campus, Nanao," Toshiro said as he made his way to one of the bar stools adjacent to the kitchen counter.

"I know," Nanao said as she followed him inside. "It just doesn't seem right… I don't think Doctor Kyoraku would like me calling you by your first name."

"Ha, I doubt that. Shunsui cares very little about most things. How do you like being one of his undergraduate researchers? I don't think I've ever asked."

"That would be because this is the longest conversation we have ever had," Nanao said. Her tone was neither mean nor cold. It was simply matter of fact. Toshiro had a tendency to arrive and quickly leave with Momo. "But I like it well enough. I have a lot of freedom for an undergrad."

"What do you plan to do after graduating?'

"Oh, I'll probably just continue working under Kyoraku."

With this, the conversation effectively died and Toshiro found himself trying to break the awkward silence. "So… where did you say Momo was again?"

"Checking the mail. She was expecting something, but it wasn't there earlier. She shouldn't be long. She left right before you got here and the mail is in the main lobby."

As if right on cue, the door opened to find Momo, dressed for dinner. "Thank goodness it was there- oh, hi Toshiro!" Momo said as her eyes traveled from Nanao to her boyfriend. "Sorry to keep you waiting. Let me just get my coat."

Toshiro nodded and watched as Momo quickly ran into her room to grab her things. Once she was ready, she took his hand and pulled him out the door. "Okay! Let's go! I'm ready."

The two of them shared small talk on the drive to the restaurant. Now that Momo was no longer assigned to his lab, the two did not spend most of the day together and frankly Toshiro already missed having her with him all the time.

When the two reached the restaurant, they made their way quietly to their table. The restaurant of choice tonight was a stylish little place that Momo had been eager to show Toshiro. After much pleading (for Toshiro was such a person of habit) Momo had finally convinced him to branch out of his small list of approved restaurants and try the trendy little restaurant.

"Everything here is weird," Toshiro said with the smallest traces of a grimace. "I can't eat this."

"Oh, don't be so dramatic," Momo said as she rolled her eyes. "Just because you can't order pasta or hot wings does not mean that you can't eat."

"What are you getting?" Toshiro asked as he picked up his glass of wine to take a sip.

"I am getting the sweet potato gnocchi," said Momo. "It's my favorite."

"I don't even know what a gnocchi is," Toshiro said with a grumble.

"Well, you agreed to come so please pick something quickly before our server comes back and you turn into a flustered mess."

With much reluctance, Toshiro finally settled on the safest item he could possible find on the menu, scallions and forbidden rice (though what about it that makes it so forbidden he did not want to know). Once they had ordered, Toshiro returned his attention back to his beautiful girlfriend.

"So I was planning on going shopping tomorrow for a wedding gift for Ichigo and Rukia," Toshiro said. "Want to join me? I have no idea what to get them and god forbid I fuck up."

"I can't," Momo said as she reached for her wine glass to take a large sip. "I have something I need to take care off. Can we do it another time?"

Toshiro shook his head. "Tomorrow's the last day I have before school starts and with the bachelor party this weekend… I won't have time until after they are married. Please?"

"I said I can't."

"Oh why not? What could be better than spending the day with your amazing boyfriend trapped in the home section of Macy's?"

"Look. I said I can't. Drop it."

Toshiro was taken back by Momo's tone of voice, yet he had a gut feeling about what is happening. Taking a deep breath, he decided to risk it. "Normally, I would drop it, but something is clearly not right with how strongly you are acting about this."

"I'm not talking about it. I'm busy, You can pick out a wedding gift. You're far from stupid." Momo said as she took another long sip from her wine glass.

"Does this have to do with the Aizen trial?" The words escaped Toshiro's mouth before he could stop them and as soon as they left his lips he regretted blurting out such a statement. Still, it was too late. The damage was done.

"Ho-how… how do you know about that?" Momo asked, her eyes wide with a mixture of shock and betrayal. "Did Nanao tell you? I'm going to kill her. Or was it Kira. I can't trust any of them."

"No… no she didn't and he didn't either," Toshiro answered honestly. If he was going to go down, he did not have to bring her friends with him, not after they were beginning to grow slightly found of him. "I… I found a letter requesting your presence at one of his trials. Well, actually it was left in the lab and I just happened to read it but I swear, I didn't mean any harm. I was just curious and you seemed so distressed-"

"I don't care _why_ you read it," Momo snarled. "What were you planning on doing? Never telling me about this?! You went through my things! You invaded my privacy!"

"Momo I don't even know what his trial is about or why it matters to you," said Toshiro. "You haven't mentioned anything to me about it, so sorry if I'm just trying to care."

"I haven't mentioned anything because it doesn't concern you," Momo said, her anger rising with every word. "It has nothing to do with you and I would like if you could just try to respect that."

"I can't when it clearly causes you to be so upset!" said Toshiro. "Like I only kind of mentioned it and now look at how upset you are and look how this has managed to spoil our dinner!"

"It wouldn't have spoiled anything if you had just kept your mouth shut."

"Well then I'm sorry. I won't ask any more questions about you or _your Professor Aizen_. I don't even know why you care about him so much… he was a horrible person. I've heard the rumors about him. I don't see why you should care."

"I'm done here." Momo's voice had completely changed. Gone was her anger. Instead, she uttered the three words in a small, quiet voice. Before Toshiro could react, Momo stood up and headed over to the door.

"Wait, Momo!" Toshiro said as he quickly followed after her. "Momo please let's talk rationally!"

"No," Momo said as she turned around and faced him. "I can't believe you went through my things and never told me. Let me go… better yet leave me alone."

Without another word, Momo stormed out the door to the restaurant, leaving Toshiro standing alone and bewildered at the sudden turn of events.


	24. Chapter 24

A/N: I'm back! I should be updating a little more regularly now that it's winter break. For those who also follow my story "Of Vices and Virtues", I'll have an update for that this week as well. For those of you who DONT follow that story... check it out! I'm a bit proud of it and I think you'll enjoy it. Anyway, here's the next chapter. I shouldn't be that long before the next update... but a review or two may motivate me now that I have more time on my hands :)

"I've been ordered not to let you in. You must have fucked up badly."

Toshiro was standing in the hallway outside of Momo's apartment. After she had stormed out of the restaurant, Toshiro had been left there, unsure on whether or not to chase after Momo. In hindsight, he knew that he should have followed her, no matter how mad she was. In reality, he had been so flustered and bewildered by Momo's outburst that he had stood there dumbstruck and in shock and had not attempted to follow her- until now, as he stood on the doorstep, facing Nanao whose arms were crossed across her chest, blocking him off from any chance of entry.

"Please Nanao, I need to try and talk to her," Toshiro pleaded.

"Sorry, I can't do that," Nanao said. "You really pissed her off. If you were smart, you should go home and try to sleep on a good apology."

"But-" Toshiro did not get to finish his sentence before the door in front of him slammed shut. His frown grew as he registered the distinct clicks of the locks being latched. Walking up to the door, he knocked on it loudly. "Please just let me in to explain."

"You should leave Professor," said Nanao, her voice calling out from the other side of the door.

"Please just-"

"This door isn't opening. Accept that."

At this, Toshiro let out a sigh and accepted that, perhaps, he would just have to go home for the night and come back another day to try and make amends. With a heavy heart, he slowly walked away from Momo's apartment, his gaze never leaving the door in the smallest hope that Momo would open it to let him in. By the time he made it to the stairwell, it was clear that the door was not opening.

Momo must have been absolutely livid at him, Toshiro thought on his drive home. In all honestly, Toshiro knew that while Momo had the right to be mad about his blatant invasion of her privacy, she was fully overreacting. He simply cared about her, and for having a defined relationship, Momo was sure keeping him from a large portion of her personal life. Maybe he had gone about it the wrong way, but his thoughts and intentions had been pure. Surely Momo would realize this soon and forgive him… at least this was the thought that Toshiro was clinging to so dearly.

What was it about Aizen that had made Momo so angry? As Toshiro thought about the conversation at dinner, he realized that Momo had been angry from the moment Toshiro had begun prying into her plans. She didn't want to provide an explanation, but really, they were now in a relationship. Was it so wrong for him to want to know what she was doing? But no. She insisted he just accept that she was busy and leave it at that. By the time Aizen and the letter from Urahara came up, Momo was already angry. There was no doubt about it. She was looking for a fight and, like a fool, Toshiro gave her one.

Now, instead of spending a wonderful evening at dinner with his girlfriend followed by an even more eventful night back at his place, he was going home alone.

As he unlocked his front door, he heard the excited footsteps of Hyorinmaru bounding towards the front door, eager for his master's return home. When he opened the door, Hyorinmaru was sitting there patiently in the hallway, tail wagging with excitement and fully unaware of the sadness festering deep in Toshiro's heart.

"Hey boy," Toshiro said as he reached down to pet the dog behind the ears. "Did you miss me?"

Hyorinmaru simply continued to wag his tail enthusiastically in response.

"Well, I'm glad someone's happy to see me," Toshiro said with a dull voice. "It's just me tonight, unfortunately. Momo and I aren't talking at the moment."

Toshiro continued inside the house as Hyorinmaru happily followed him without a care in the world. "But that's okay. You'd never be mad at me just because I care about you and wanted you to be happy, right boy? You'd understand that I just care right? So why can't she?" Toshiro slumped on the couch, his head in his hands. As he massaged his forehead with his fingers, Hyorinmaru sat down next to him and Toshiro pet him on the head, grateful for at least the smallest bit of company. At the very least, Hyorinmaru was happy to see him. Toshiro would have to take what he could get.

* * *

A full week passed and Toshiro had no contact with Momo. Nanao was still blocking his entry into the apartment and without school officially starting, neither of them had to be at the University. All the calls, texts and attempts to reach out to Momo were ignored. At this point, Toshiro was unsure if they were still even dating, but he could not bring himself to ask such a question.

By the time school started, Toshiro had fallen into a constant, dull mood. It was as if his emotions had simply faded. Until he was certain on whether he had lost Momo, or if this was just the world's worst fight, he had decided that having as little emotions as possible was the best option possible.

The Friday before the fall term at the University officially started, the entire staff of the science department had a mandatory meeting. The large group, made of professors and undergrads alike, settled into a conference on the main floor of the life science building. Toshiro and Matsumoto arrived early and promptly sat in the front. It was only just before the meeting started that Momo filled in after a tall blonde man- Hitsugaya vaguely recognized him as Shinji Hirako, Momo's observing professor- and sat in the back, away from his line of sight.

Just seeing Momo made Toshiro's stomach lurch as his heart began to pang. It had only been a week without speaking, but the week had been the longest of his life.

The meeting began without incident. Toshiro could not see Momo, but the very thought of her presence did not leave his mind. As Doctor Kyoraku droned on and on about the same beginning of the year rules and regulations, Toshiro could not help but want to turn around and look at Momo, at the very least for the ability to look at her face.

Finally, after much internal debate, he did. Turning around ever so slightly, Toshiro quickly glanced at Momo.

She looked tired, sad even, as though sleep had been eluding her lately. Whether it was because of the continued events of Aizen's trial or Toshiro's own fuck up, he did not know, but the bags around her eyes worried him. She seemed broken. It was clear on her face, maybe not to the untrained eye, but to him, who had spent countless hours studying her every feature, it was obvious that the pure joy and happiness that once filled her features was vanishing.

The meeting continued and Toshiro almost began to hate himself for looking. He could not stand the thought that a vast portion of Momo's current state was due to him. By the time it ended, he had hardly registered a word of what had been said. As he was heading out of the door, he could not help but glance at Momo one more time. To his surprise, she was looking back at him, her eyes wide. Before Toshiro could react, she had turned away and quickly headed down the opposite of the hall.

He followed Rangiku aimlessly out of the room and headed to his study after dismissing his grad assistant for the rest of the weekend. As he sat down on his desk, he quickly pulled out his work and desperately begun to read in order to try and distract himself. Less than a minute had passed when three knocks sounded on his office door.

"It's open."

The door opened to reveal Shinji Hirako, baring a wide, toothy smile. "Hello there Doctor Hitsugaya."

"Hello Doctor Hirako. I don't mean to be forward, but what brings you here? I don't remember the last time we spoke."

"I was just in the neighborhood and I decided to drop by and… chat."

"You came here just to chat?" Toshiro said, his eyebrows raised. "Look, this may come as a shock to you, but I'm not exactly the chatty type, unless it is about work of course."

"I actually wanted to talk to you about my graduate assistant, Momo Hinamori. I believe she worked under you for a bit this summer, if I was informed correctly," Shinji said as he flashed another brilliant smile.

At the mention of Momo's name, Toshiro fought hard to make sure that his face did not betray his onslaught of emotion he was experiencing. "Oh, yes. Miss Hinamori. She's a hard worker and quite brilliant. What would you like to discuss?"

"She's quite pretty, isn't she?"

This question caught Toshiro off guard. "Wh-what?"

"She's quite pretty," Shinji repeated with a smile on his face. "Beautiful, in fact… but you already know this."

"What are you trying to get at?" Toshiro said, his voice finally betraying him.

"Oh, please stop being so vague," Shinji said. "I caught you staring at her throughout the meeting and unless I'm blind, when you were turned around she was staring right back. I'm just curious and all. Are you two a thing? I may be a ladies man, but I'm not a complete ass. If she's spoken for I'll respect that."

At this, Toshiro lowered his gaze. "We are- were- or… I don't know." He swallowed to prevent his voice from shaking. "We were dating. Officially. But we got into an argument last week and she has yet to speak with me."

"Must have been some argument."

"Oh, it was." Toshiro then paused as he weighed out his options. Deciding to be bold, he cleared his throat to ask Shinji the question on his mind. "So, Doctor Hirako, this is your first year back after a long hiatus, isn't it?"

Shinji nodded. "Yes. I taught here almost six years ago, but Doctor Aizen ended up getting my position after he was offered an incredible amount of grant money to conduct research. The University did not see the point of keeping both of us on staff at the same time, so I was released. I ended up going somewhere else for a bit, but I've always liked it here. When the position reopened I could hardly contain my excitement."

"Did you… did you know Doctor Aizen personally?"

At this, Shinji's face fell into a frown. "You want to know what I know about the Aizen case don't you?"

"What- no- I just…"

"It's okay," Shinji said before Toshiro could fully comprehend his world. "I understand. He did study for his doctorate under me. I'm perhaps the only person who never fully fell for his pretty boy antics. I am a witness at his trial testifying against him. But I am confused… I thought we were talking about your failing relationship with my assistant."

"It relates. The argument we got into involved the Aizen case. Somehow, Momo is personally invested, but I don't believe she is involved. No matter what, she won't tell me."

"Well, I can't tell you what the case is about of course," Shinji said. "But I can tell you that Momo is not involved, at least not from a legal standpoint. How she is related to Aizen, I have no idea. It must have been after my time here. I'll let you know if I find out anything." Shinji turned to head out the door. "Speaking of Aizen, I do need to be going. I have to stop by Urahara's to make another statement for the court case next Thursday. I hope you and Momo figure it out though… she really is beautiful."

With that, Shinji closed the door, leaving a broken hearted Toshiro no further than where he started.


	25. Chapter 25

"Keep my tab open," Toshiro said as he handed his card to the bartender. He was currently sitting alone at the bar inside one of the pubs by the University. It had been a long, stressful and emotionally draining week, so Ichigo had suggested a night out to help pick up his best friend's spirits. Toshiro had reluctantly agreed and now he was waiting for his friend to get off work, figuring that there was no harm in having a couple rounds before the ginger arrived.

Maybe a few drinks would help him think of a plan. Toshiro had decided earlier in the day, once Professor Hirako had left, that he was not willing to wait much longer to talk to Momo. Now, all he had to think about was what to say.

"Is this seat taken?"

Toshiro looked up in surprise at the voice. Standing next to him, sporting his usual brooding expression, was Kira.

"No, it's all yours," Toshiro grumbled as he picked up his beer and brought it to his lips.

Kira sat down and got the attention of the bartender. After receiving his drink, the two sat in silence in their small corner of the bar.

"I've never seen you in here," Kira said after both of them had finished their first beer in utter silence. He waved the bartender down for a refill. "And I like to consider myself a regular."

"I usually go to Gentle Ben's," Toshiro answered. "But I wasn't feeling it tonight."

"You wouldn't have run into her either way," Kira said. "She wasn't planning on going out tonight."

Kira's response surprised Toshiro. Taking a long gulp from his beer, Toshiro sighed.

"I heard what happened. Nanao told me," Kira continued on, no longer waiting for Toshiro to respond. "I wish I could say her reaction surprised me, but it really didn't. Not when it comes to Aizen."

"If I asked you to explain what you mean by that, would you?" Toshiro asked, finally looking Kira in the eye.

Kira shrugged. "You know I wasn't too keen on the idea of you seeing Momo when I first found out."

"And why not?"

"I just didn't want a repeat of the whole Aizen thing," Kira said. "You see Doctor Hitsugaya-"

"Call me Toshiro," Toshiro interrupted. "We aren't on campus."

Kira nodded. "You see Toshiro, I'm know that by explaining to you why Momo is so angry at you, she will turn her anger towards me. But frankly, not saying anything would be worse. Momo's miserable without you, but she's just so _damn_ _sensitive_ when it comes to anything involving Aizen that I might as well."

"Um, well… thank you?"

"Ha. Your welcome, I guess," Kira said. "How much do you know about the whole Aizen incident?"

"A bit more than I should, honestly," Toshiro answered truthfully. "My best friend's fiancé is an intern for the law firm representing the University against him."

"Aizen's currently going to trail for the exploitation of three minors," Kira explained matter-of-factly. "His experiments are genius- he's a genius- but the methods he use to gain the information that power his research follow no code of conduct. To Aizen, it didn't matter how many people he had to exploit to get the results he needed. Frankly, he had a bit of a god-complex. He could rationalize all of his actions and he did."

At these words, Toshiro's stomach churned. As a professor and researcher himself, the thought of experiments that completely abandoned all ethical reasoning made his heart skip a beat. "But I still don't understand what this has to do with Momo."

"Momo was one of the undergraduate assistants in his lab," Kira said before adding "and she was in love with him."

If Toshiro had taken a sip of beer right before hearing these words, he would surely had choked to death. Instead, he merely stared at Kira, unsure how to process the new information. While it was natural that Momo had been in relationships in the past, the thought of her with someone as shady as Aizen made his skin crawel. The sensation overwhelmed him. Kira, sensing Toshiro's discomfort, continued on without letting Toshiro interrupt with any comments.

"He treated her as his favorite undergrad from the beginning. Momo was in love with him and at the very least, Aizen put on enough of a show back that Momo did not question his affections. I personally don't think Aizen cared much for Momo, it just wouldn't fit in with his character. This is why I was so bothered at the thought of you. Momo may have graduated, but I didn't want you taking advantage of her the way Aizen did."

"Aizen took advantage of her?" Toshiro said. "But by what you said, it seems like Momo was more than willing."

"He took advantage of her kindness," Kira explained. "She was more than willing to give up her heart, and when he realized how strong Momo's loyalty to him was, he took full advantage. Momo may have not been a victim of Aizen's atrocities that landed him in court, but she's not necessarily uninvolved. Aizen would always ask weird favors of her- to reserve the lab for late at night, to contact certain "volunteers", to do this, to do that- and she never refused. Luck for Momo, Aizen was clever enough to hide the true intentions of all she was helping him with, otherwise she would be in court as much more than a witness."

"So Aizen manipulated Momo to unknowingly help him?"

Kira nodded as he finished off his beer. "Yes. But that's not the main problem, the main problem is that even to this day, Momo refuses to believe that Aizen had cruel intentions. She strongly believes in his good character, although I'm sure that no longer exists."

"I'm sorry I keep asking all these questions," Toshiro said. Beside him, Kira waved a hand to dismiss the comment. "But then why would Momo be mad at me?"

"I don't think she's necessarily mad," Kira said after a while. "At first maybe. You did go through her thing and that's not cool man. But now, now I think Momo believes that if she were to explain, you would just turn against her like the rest of us. She goes to the hearing every week to see if her Aizen is pardoned… because she can't see how his true self. Her feelings around Aizen are so complex that she probably doesn't understand them herself." Kira paused. He then added, "But these are just broad suggestions, a shot in the dark if you will. Knowing Momo, there may be more to this, or maybe not. Who really knows?"

At this moment, Toshiro caught a glimpse of bright orange hair across the room. Ichigo was here, his timing impeccable as always. When the two made eye contact, Toshiro waved and patted the empty seat beside him.

Seeing this, Kira looked at Toshiro, "I can see you have a friend here. Well, I'll leave you. I hope this helps. I suggest you talk to her. Apologize for snooping, at the very least. And he does care about you, I know she does. Aizen just messed with her mind too much and she still suffers from the consequence from being around someone so poisonous for so long. I'll see you later Toshiro." He then got up and left to find another place along the bar.

By now, Ichigo had made his way to the seat Toshiro had saved for him. Looking at Kira walking away, Ichigo turned to Toshiro. "Who was that?"

"Oh, just a friend from the university. We were having a chat," Toshiro said.

"Was it a good chat?"

"You know, I'm not really sure." This was the truth, so Toshiro stopped at that.

 **A/N: Hi guys! Sorry it's been awhile. I've gotten a bunch of notifications regarding people following this story this past week so I made sure to find time to update. I will also be updating my other fic _Of Vices and Virtues_ by Valentine's Day for a treat for you all. So I hope to update soon, at the very least before the beginning of March. We are on the final stretch of this fic and I think we should be done in less than five more updates. So until next time.**


	26. Chapter 26

A/N: Hello everyone! Long time, no write. But now that it's summer, I'm back and ready to update. I will be updating at least once a week until this story is complete… which will be in three or four updates! We are on the final stretch! As always, thanks for the support and let me know what you think.

The days proceeding Aizen's final trial dragged on. Semester began and Toshiro reentered the mundane routine that dominated his profession. Despite the monotony, he welcomed the distraction.

The morning of Aizen's trial, it poured. Toshiro woke up to Hyorinmaru barking and scratching against the sliding glass door, desperate to be let in and escape the rain invading the porch. As Toshiro drank his morning coffee, he watched the rain and deemed it appropriate that such gloomy weather would dominate such a gloomy day.

Through sheer luck, Rukia had pulled some strings to allow Toshiro to attend the trial. He had asked her out of desperation and seeing the look on his face, she couldn't refuse. He simply had to see for himself the monster that had entrapped Momo's affections for so long. Dressed in his favorite suit, bid Hyorinmaru goodbye and headed downtown to the courthouse.

Because of the involvement of minors, the trial had been a private event with little to no news coverage or public releases of information. Despite this, when Toshiro pulled up to the courthouse, he was met with a large mob of news crews and vans waiting outside the building in order to report on the final outcome of such a high profile, but secret trial.

As he stepped out of his car, the camera's turned their attention on Toshiro. Reporters came bustling over to him, microphones in hand. "Are you here for the Souske Aizen trial?" "Are you personally affiliated with Aizen?" The questions came at him from all directions and never seemed to end.

"I'm not," Toshiro lied. "I'm here for a traffic violation."

The reports seemed to believe his story and they backed away to give him his space, already looking out for the next person to storm.

Toshiro made his way into the courtroom and was relieved to see that the majority of attendees had already arrived. He sat down in the back, out of sight from most, and looked around the room. The jury had already begun to take their place along the righthand side of the courtroom floor and at the front of the room, he spotted Urahara, Rukia and two other legal assistants Toshiro did not recognize. Aizen had not yet arrived. Neither, Toshiro confirmed after a third sweep of the room, had Momo.

As soon as that thought had entered his mind, one of the courtroom doors opened, revealing the petite woman. Contrary to expectations, Momo looked calm, collected and put together. Only her eyes revealed the inner turmoil Toshiro imagined she was grappling with. Trying to avoid her attention, he moved to advert his eyes, but was a moment too late. Within an instant of stepping inside the courtroom, not only had she spotted him, she intentionally did not move her gaze from his own, as if to ask why or how she was there. He could not read the expression on her face. Her features remained neutral and Toshiro's heart could not help but race as he tried to detect any sign of emotion on the girl's face.

Instead, Momo simply continued into the room before taking a seat at the front of the room, to the far right. From his seat, Toshiro could still see the full profile of Momo's face, but her expression remained unchanged and he became determined not to stare at her throughout the duration of this trial.

His wish was granted as the judge quickly entered the courtroom, commanding the immediate attention of everyone present. Followed close behind, escorted by his lawyer, a tall man with dreads, glasses and an orange scarf wrapped around his neck, and two security guards was Aizen. He was dressed in the standard prison garb, but even in this lackluster apparel, his natural charm was clear.

Despite working at the University for a few years together, Toshiro's interactions with Aizen had been limited to staff meetings and mandatory workshops. Their few conversations had remained professional, respectful and work-oriented. Had he been asked before the start of this trial, Toshiro knew so little about his colleague it was remarkable they worked in the same department.

The smirk on Aizen's face never once faded. He sat there, clade in his beige uniform, unphased by the environment around him. He was either the smuggest bastard Toshiro had ever seen or a master at playing calm, cool and collected.

The judge began to speak, summarizing the purpose of the proceeding today. "Before we read the jury's final verdict, do you have any more statements to make, Doctor Aizen?"

Aizen sat up and linked his fingers together in his lap. He smiled wide at the judge, then looked to face the jury. "None at all, your honor."

"Very well," the judge said as he straightened out the piece of paper in his hands. "Very well. The jury finds you guilty, of all charges. Three separate exploitations of minors, using them to conduct illegal, unethical experiments that have caused all three irreversible emotional and physical harm. You have been sentenced to the maximum sentence of twenty-five years and stripped of all right to every teach and conduct research in this country again."

As the verdict was read, Aizen's face did not falter. "Ah," he said simply, once the courtroom allowed him to speak. "So that's it then."

"That's it? This is not a sentence to be taken lightly, " the judge said.

"Twenty-five years. I can live. And for what? My research proved successful. I had almost perfected a mutation that would create skin that was tough- almost like armor. And with that, the additional strength and power was beyond was you could imagine. Was it painful? Yes. Does it disfigure those involved? Perhaps. It's just a mask. There are worse injuries to obtain. But I was working to create a perfect soldier. You are fools for not following me, for deeming me a criminal. I have improved the model human and what do I get? Twenty-five years. You should be bowing down on your knees, hailing me as the master of science and the leader of future. I would have gotten away with it, too, if it wasn't for Doctor Hirako messing around where no one wanted him too."

In the first row, sitting directly behind Urahara, sat Shinji Hirako. At Aizen's words, he shook his head, clearly disgusted at what had just been said. A row behind him, Momo's eyes were in her lap. Unlike Aizen, Momo had lost her emotionless mask. The look on her face was one of shock, but Toshiro did not know if it was shock from the sentence or shock from Aizen's blatant statement of his belief that his torturous actions were justifiable.

Aizen's statements unleashed a fury in the courtroom. The courtroom was alive with insults, criticism and outrage. It took the judge a few minutes before he regained control of the courtroom.

"Now that the sentence has been read, this court has been dismissed."

The group of people all got up at once, and Toshiro quickly tried to get up and out of the row he was sitting in. Before he had a chance to find Momo, he felt a tug on his arm and turned to see Shinji Hirako.

"I'm surprised to see you here," Shinji said. "You stick out like a sore thumb with your white hair, I hope you know that."

"Look, Doctor can I get back to you? There's someone I need to speak too. It's very urgent." Toshiro said, no patience in his voice.

"Oh, yes, of course," Shinji said with a smile. "Just be gentle with what you say. I can assure you, she didn't take any of this lightly."

Toshiro nodded and turned around, heading for outside the courtroom. Everywhere he looked, people stood in clusters, discussing the final results of the trials. When he entered the main hall of the courtroom, his heart sank as he realized that Momo was nowhere to be seen.

"You look lost."

Toshiro turned around to see Rukia standing a few feet from him, briefcase in hand. She was dressed in her professional best, engagement ring sparkling from her left hand.

"I'm looking for Momo," Toshiro answered honestly.

"She left. I saw her walk out not that long ago. She seemed eager to get the hell out of here," Rukia said. "It's been a long trial. She must be emotionally drained."

"Yeah, maybe," Toshiro muttered, his heart hurt.

"You should go to her," Rukia said. She placed one hand tenderly on Toshiro's shoulder. "Tell her what I know you feel. I think, with Aizen's statement today, there can be no more doubt that he was oblivious to the severity of his actions. She might be feeling foolish for trying to convince herself of her character for so long."

"Why do you think so?"

"I've spoken to Miss Hinamori about this case more than you could imagine. I wasn't allowed to tell you- frankly I'm still really not. She's lost. You need to finish guiding her. Something tells me that this time, she won't run away from you." Rukia smiled softly at Toshiro. "So go."

Toshiro nodded and gave Rukia a hug. "Thank you, Rukia," he said softly. "You really are so far out of Ichigo's league."

Rukia laughed and waved off his comment. "Just go already."

Toshiro began to walk as fast as he could, giving he was still inside the main courtroom. Once outside, he began to sprint towards his car, ignoring the many calls of the reporters that littered the outside of the courtroom. When he reached his car, he was surprised to find someone already standing against it.

"Momo." The word was almost inaudible.

"Hi," she said softly. "Can we talk?"


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N: This took longer than I wanted. I ended up re-writing some of the parts a few times because after all the effort that went into this story, I didn't want the ending to suck. After this, there will be the epilogue. So here we are! The end of this story. Finally. It's been a good ride. Now let's get to the feelings.**

"Can we talk?"

At these words, Toshiro could not help the constricting feeling growing in his throat. He swallowed. "Yeah, sure. Right now?"

"If that's okay."

"Okay, yeah. Let's talk," Toshiro said. He was no longer aware of the rain that was still pouring down, or the fact that his suit was drenched and now stuck on his body. "What's up?"

Internally, Toshiro cursed himself for asking such a shallow-sounding and casual question. "What's up" did not begin to cover what he really wanted to ask. "How are you doing?" or "Will we ever go back to what we were?" would have been more appropriate.

"Oh, nothing much. Just standing in the courtroom parking lot in the rain," Momo said, a small, shy smile crossing her face. "I must admit, I was shocked when I saw you today."

"I hope you don't mind I came," Toshiro started, his words rolling off of his tongue faster than he intended them too. "I just… I was so curious… I wanted to know. It may have been an invasion of your privacy again but I figured I had nothing to lose after you not talking to me for the past three weeks so, fuck it, I went ahead and-"

"I'm an idiot."

Momo's sudden interruption caught Toshiro off guard. His nervous ramble stopped immediately and he looked at her hesitantly, as if unsure on how to respond. To his relief, Momo continued before he had time to judge an appropriate response.

"I'm an idiot for never realizing how damn terrible a person Doctor Aizen was," Momo muttered, her voice quivering. "The worse part about all of this is how there was no part of me, not even deep, deep down, that suspected him. I was convinced for so long that he had been framed. That he wasn't capable of such a thing. And then, in the courtroom there, to hear him talk in that way. I felt like I fool- no I am a fool."

"You were blinded," Toshiro began carefully. "He was charming. He said and did the things you wanted to hear. He fooled you. He fooled everyone."

"That's not an excuse. At least not now. Maybe at first, but once the trials started and I began to see the evidence… how could I still have believed in him? It doesn't matter that he charmed me. I'm a bigger fool, perhaps, for still thinking he was so great then. Any fragment of any type of relationship we had had at this point was over. It's been over for over a year and still I was determined to stand by his character. What a waste of emotion dedicated to such a one-sided arrangement. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid."

"Kira told me everything," Toshiro answered honestly. "You don't need to hide the extent of your feelings you had for Aizen."

"I'm not," Momo insisted. "No matter how strong they once were, how I feel for you is so much stronger. But I've gone and ruined it. And why? Because I was insecure? I overreacted, thinking you would try and be like everyone else and correct me on how Aizen truly was. And yet, I was the only one that was wrong. I'm sorry Toshiro. I really am."

"No, I'm sorry Momo," Toshiro said softly. "I've hurt you just as much."

"No I've hurt myself." Momo muttered. The wind had begun to pick up and Toshiro almost couldn't hear her.

"Let's, let's move this into my car. We're both soaked." Toshiro unlocked the car door.

"But won't the water ruin the interior?" Momo asked, genuinely concerned.

"It's just leather, don't worry about it," Toshiro said. In response, Momo gave a small, genuine smile. This was the first smile of hers that he had seen in weeks and that alone was enough. They settled into his car, both shivering and still dripping wet. He quickly turned on the heat, but did not pull the car out of park. "May I ask one more question about this whole Aizen mess?" Toshiro said carefully. "Just to put it all behind once and for all."

"Um, well, sure." Momo could not hide the surprise in her voice. "To put this behind us once and for all."

"Did you still care for him, even a little, in…. Well in _that_ way when we were together? Part of me needs to know the answer, no matter what it is. You still went to the trials, you still defended them. I don't want to know that our relationship had been a distraction," Toshiro said, pouring out his full honest response. "Please."

Momo paused, as if mentally debating on how to respond to Toshiro's question. "If you want me to be honest… yes and no. Maybe. I just… at first yes. I think at first, before I knew I loved you, part of me still clinged to him. But after, once I had realized the full extent of my feelings for you, my attachment for Aizen was pure stubbornness and the effects of his tricks. I no longer loved or cared for him, but I did not want to admit he was the monster everyone else saw him as. I couldn't. Stupid."

"Please stop calling yourself stupid." Toshiro's words caught Momo off guard and she turned to look at him, eyes wide. "You're not stupid and it hurts me to see you being so hard on yourself."

"I'm sorry. And there I go sounding like a broken record. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I can say it countless times, but I hope you know that they are all genuine."

"It's clear in your eyes," Toshiro said with a small smile. "And I'm sorry too. We could… start over? Try and put all this behind us?"

The tension in the air was thick as the sentence slipped from Toshiro's lips. He sat there, looking directly at Momo, not breaking eye contact. Luckily, he did not have to wait long for her to answer.

"Yes, let's start over," Momo laughed, soft and genuine. "Hi, I'm Momo Hinamori. It's nice to meet you." She offered her hand out for him to take.

Returning her handshake, he looked at her. "Toshiro Hitsugaya."

Momo giggled. "So, now what?"

"This." Toshiro leaned over and placed one hand softly on Momo's cheek. With a sly smile, he pulled her in closer. "Now, now we make up."

And he kissed her, to make up for lost time.


End file.
